Lucifer of Rikkaidai
by ScherzoVivace
Summary: FEM!AKAYA. A tennis player who won three boys' championships comes to Rikkaidai. Expect anything different from a prodigy? It's a girl. This is Kirihara Akaya and the Rikkaidai regulars' side of the story. PoT retell, Rikkaidai centric. Fem!AkayaXNiou
1. Prologue

Lucifer of Rikkaidai

_Hi guys! This is a Fem!Akaya fic, and pairing is undecided yet. I will get back to you at the end of the story to further inform you of the fiction! But for now, ENJOY!_

Chapter 1: Prologue

"Normal"

"**English"**

"_Thoughts"_

"**Mom. Mom. Mom. Mom. Mom. Mother. Mom. Mom. Mom. Mother. Mom. Mom. Mom." **A girl, with shoulder length curly and black hair and green eyes pestered her mother by poking her continuously.

"WHAT!" She softly yelled in a different language.

"**Are we there yet?**"

"You asked that just a minute ago! No, we still have eight hours left so sit tight and sleep!" She softly yelled again.

"**Akaya, if you can't sleep then play a game or something." **A boy, with curly black hair tied in rattail and black eyes said to the girl next to him; he was slightly older but resembled the girl.

"**But aniki, this plane doesn't have action games! I thought first-class was supposed to be better when it's an international plane! They're all freaking bejeweled and zuma and stuff!" **She yelled in frustration.

Thirty minutes later, her eyes were glued to the little monitor.

"**Dammit I just need a diamond right there and I can get a row with ****5****! Darn it!" **The girl gritted her teeth and fumed in frustration. Her older brother just sighed; although she was a cute little sister, she was sometimes just too much to handle.

"When you grow up, Akaya, you need to meet a man that could handle you well." He said in his native tongue.

"What are you implying." She answered back, shooting him daggers.

"Nothing~" He looked away. The girl gave him a final glare, and went back to her game.

The three were sitting on the seats in a plane traveling to Tokyo, Japan. They had left six hours ago from New York City much to the girl's dismay. It was not her nature to sit tight for hours straight; she needed a very addicting game, a very good comic book, or a very important task.

"**You know, I'm still unsure about you signing up for that one school… you could just go to the good private school, what's it called****…**** Hyotei, instead of Rikkaidai." **Her brother stated.

"**Nahh. Rikkaidai needs me. I was recommended too!" **She confidently said.

"**Why is that?"**

"**T****heir tennis team is actually worth my time."**

"**Hm… I guess so. You sure you're okay not going to the tennis tournament this week?"**

"**Pssh, that tournament's a joke for little kids. Even in division for 16 year olds guys are so not challenging." **She scoffed; she hated that people never took a sport seriously when she wanted more challenge. She swept all the trophies and prizes in America, but she was up for something way more challenging, and she came up with just the perfect idea to have what she wanted.

"**But I think this is a dangerous idea…" **Her brother said, with a worried look on his face.

"**Gosh, how many times do I have to tell you it's totally fine! And I'll be careful, so no worries." **She ensured. Her brother couldn't quite rely on that.

"**I just hope that I don't end up with a grouchy captain—"**

In Rikkaidai Fuzoku Middle School, the tennis team was having a practice.

"AAACHOOO!" A boy with black hair and quite the old face sneezed. "Ugh…"

"Oi, Sanada! Hurry up and hit the ball!" One of the players on the other side of the court, with magenta-red colored hair and bubblegum, yelled.

"Alright." He then hit a ball. His form was clean, beautiful, and absolutely perfect. After couple of rallies, he walked to the bench and rested.

"**Or a really mean upperclassman that pulls pranks on me and target me—"**

"ACHOOO!" A boy with a light blue rattail hair and a mole on his chin sneezed; the former boy's attention turned to him, and the boy with a rattail had a black cap in his hand. "Puri"

"NIOOOUUUU!" The former boy enraged as he saw the latter holding his beloved cap in his hand. The light-blue haired boy took off, with the black-haired on chasing right behind him.

"**Or a really creepy, stalker-ish person that knows everything about everyone—"**

"Hmm?" A bob-cut haired boy with closed eyes felt the inside of his ear itchy. He pulled on his ear and scratched it.

"Someone must be talking about you." The boy next to him, with blue hair, green headband and the jersey over his shoulders laughed and said.

"32% it might be Marui. 55% Niou, the other 13% someone else." He said. "That 13% may be the new student that was recommended to be in our tennis team; I heard that he chose to come here instead of Hyotei just for tennis." He said. Yukimura's eyes gleamed playfully.

"Huhuhu… I just hope I get a cute little kouhai."

"**Or someone that would steal everything I eat"**

"ACHOOOO!" the red-haired boy sneezed, and dropped his cupcake.

"NOOOOOOO~!" He dramatically knelt down and yelled at the sky.

"Bunta, there's one more." The bald and dark kid said.

"Oh, thanks Jackal." He immediately returned to the bench and took out another cupcake.

"**Well, there're always people like that in every school, my dear little inexperienced girl." **Her brother said, as a matter-of-fact.

"**Ugh, I know. I just hope people in MY team aren't like that**." She said, still glued to the screen.

Couple hours later, the plane had landed at the airport.

"Azuya, could you take the bag out for me?" Their mother asked the tall boy. He stood up and got the baggage on the top shelf. "Akaya, wake up, honey. We're here." She woke up her daughter.

"Ah, we're already here?"

"Yes. Let's go." They walked towards the exit; they exited the plane, and walked to the terminal exits.

"Alright, Azuya. You sure you can go from here?"

"Yeah."

"Aniki~ Do you really have to go~?" Akaya complained; without him she wouldn't have as much fun.

"Sorry, Akaya. It's better living in dorm than going back and forth."

"…Fine… but visit often, okay?" She pouted and said.

"Alright." The boy hugged his mother and sister. "Bye, I'll call as soon as I get settled."

"Bye~" The two waved, and watched the only male in the household go. They watched until he got out of the building and caught a taxi.

"Then shall we go?"

"Okay!"

The two went to grab their baggage, and headed off to get a taxi themselves. After about thirty minutes, they were in front of a nice, spacious house. There was a moving truck already moving furniture inside.

"Is this where we're living?"

"Yup. It looks nice as always~ Let's go in. Ah, let's not forget to say hi to the neighbors."

"Alright."

Akaya walked into the house with her mother. Then she went upstairs, and found her room. She cleaned up her room and organized all of her clothes. There was even a game console in her room along with a TV.

She went to bed early that night. She was excited about going to the Japanese school for the first time, and she was already expecting to make new friends and join the tennis club which she's been waiting for since couple months ago.

The alarm went off at 6 o'clock exactly.

"UWWAHH!" She shot up, surprised by a sudden loud noise.

"Ugh…" She turned the alarm off and grumbled. Although the alarm went off at 6:30, it took her 15 minutes to actually get her out of bed. She was definitely not a morning person. She dragged herself into the bathroom, took a shower, and changed. She put on Rikkaidai's uniform; she put the skirt on, wore the button-up shirt and tucked it in, and finally tied the green and white striped necktie around her neck.

"Mom, look!" She spread her arms and showed her new uniform to her.

"My, someone looks adorable!" She giggled.

Akaya sat down and started eating breakfast.

"Alright honey, now that you're starting a new school life as a girl in the boys' team, you have to listen to me very carefully." She said, looking straight at Akaya. Akaya just nodded, food full in her mouth. "First, just because the guys are your teammates, don't ever let your guard down. I know you're strong, but don't go on picking fights. You're not in elementary school anymore."

"Yes ma'am!" She saluted. Then Akaya looked at the clock; it was 7:45, and the school started at 8 o'clock.

"OH SHOOT I'M GOING TO BE LATE!" She kicked the chair and dashed out of the house. "SEE YOU MOM!"

She dashed and dashed; the direction to school was pretty simple: follow the big road. She saw the people in uniforms go in through the gate; she jumped onto one of the gate walls, and then yelled:

"I'M GOING TO BE THE NUMBER ONE~!"

While Akaya proudly shouted out, she earned some snickers and giggles from people walking in.

"HEY YOU! GET DOWN RIGHT NOW!" One of the teachers by the gate yelled at her.

"O-Oh. Sorry." She regained her composure, and climbed down. She walked to the administration office. Her class was 2-A, and she was able to find her class easily. So far so good; she didn't get into any trouble. She was finally in front of the class door.

"Alright, let's go!" She breathed in and out, and mumbled to herself. She knocked, and waited for the answer; "Come in" someone said. She opened the door, and stepped in.

"Ah, you must be Kirihara." The woman, in her mid-20s, said. She walked over to Akaya, and led her to the front of the class. All the attention pinned on her as she walked in.

"Class, this is a new student who will be joining us this year. Go ahead and introduce yourself."

"Hi! I'm Kirihara Akaya! I just moved from America, and I'm totally new to Japanese school. And I love tennis! Yoroshiku!" She cheerfully introduced.

"Any questions for Kirihara-chan?"

"Are you the girl who said "I'm going to be the number one!" this morning?" A boy raised his hand and asked.

"Ahaha, yup. That was me." She pointed the thumb at her proudly and smiled, her teeth showing. Some people giggled as they thought of the funny girl this morning.

"Are you going to join the tennis club?"

"Of course! I'm going to be the number one!" She shouted just like she did in the morning and once again earned giggles and snickers.

"Alright then, let's ask questions later. You can go ahead and take a seat at the back row next to Itomi-chan. Itomi-chan, please raise your hand."

Then the girl at the back row in the corner raised her hand. She smiled, and Akaya smiled back, walking over to the seat.

"Hi~" Akaya greeted as she sat down.

"Hi! I'm Itomi Reiko. Nice to meet you!" She had brown hair, about shoulder-length, and slightly darker brown eyes.

"Nice to meet you too! What are we doing first?"

"We're doing chemistry."

"Got it." She took her textbook out, and opened to the page. She was actually a good student; she only liked sciences such as chemistry and math, but absolutely failed in history, literature, sociology and whatnot. She definitely despised history the most, however. Back in America she got in trouble when she completely bombed her history essay by writing that if George Bush was a good president then she would be the Superman. Or, when the history documentary began she fell asleep within a second. What came afterwards was not the best memory.

During the break, the curious kids came over chatted, and Akaya was happy to share some conversation, crack jokes and things. She went through the day safely, ate lunch with her new friend Reiko and her other friends, and finished the rest of the schedule.

But it was a doom; history was the last class of the day. She really hated it.

She was sleeping through it until the bell rang, announcing that the last class of the day was over and afterschool club activities had started.

"Hold up." When she was about to stand up after packing her bag, her teacher stopped her.

"W-Wait, sensei. I have something really important after school!" She said.

"I have something very important for you too." The teacher held up a pop quiz that she took in history in the beginning of the class (which she completely B.S'd). There was a big fat red mark crossing out the answer and a big fat zero next to the question.

"Three factors of growth: food, sleep, and love. Great." The teacher said, putting the paper along with a thick packet of reading material on top of her desk.

"Geh."

* * *

><p>"Seiichi, did you see Kirihara Akaya yet?" A boy with brown bob-cut hair and closed eyes asked the blue-haired boy with a jacket draped over his shoulder.<p>

"No, not yet. I wonder if he'll come today." Then he watched the club members crowd around the sign-up table to sign up for the team; one-third just came after hearing that their tennis team went to the nationals, one-third came because of the attention they wanted from fangirls, and one-third were probably (and hopefully) interested in tennis.

"I'm laaaattteee!" She yelled as she ran to the girls' locker room and changed into her tennis gear. Akaya had white shorts and a sky blue polo; she wore her tennis shoes, and scrunched her hair into a ponytail and pinned her front hair that didn't reach the rubber band. She then dashed outside... except she didn't know where the courts were.

"Ah crap." Then she looked for someone to ask; then she found a silver-haired boy with a rattail in the Rikkaidai tennis uniform she saw on a magazine.

"Excuse me!" She called him and ran up to catch up. He turned around and faced the girl; he had quite an amused look on his face.

"Do you know where the tennis team sign-ups are?"

"…puri"

* * *

><p>Akaya dashed into the building, and opened up the room and yelled "I'm sorry I'm late!" but then froze as she found people in a regular school uniform.<p>

"Um… do you have a business in the student council?" Someone asked.

"Eh, it's not the tennis team sign-ups here?"

"No, it's the student council. Someone must've played a trick on you."

"Ah, I see. I'm sorry to bother." Then she closed the door.

"That mother father sonofa—"Then she ran outside again, and she was already running 30 minutes late. She found the tennis courts at last; it was the very opposite of the direction which that douchebag taught her.

"If I meet him I'm gonna pay—" She mumbled and cursed, and stormed to the tennis courts. There was about hundred gazillion feet line of kids waiting to sign up. She grumbled and walked to the end of the line, but was stopped as someone tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around and found a boy with bob-cut hair and closed eyes.

"Are you lost?" He said.

"Oh, I'm sure I'm at the right place. This is Rikkaidai's tennis team, right?"

"Yes…?" He said, slightly confused.

"Hehe. Hi, I'm Kirihara Akaya. I moved from America and I was recommended to come here." She smiled and showed her teeth.

"…_you're _Kirihara Akaya?" He was now obviously confused; then two more people came over. One had a black cap (looked old) and the other looked very nice, with blue hair, green headband, and a jacket around his shoulder.

"What is it, Renji?" The black capped boy said.

"Ah, what a cute looking kouhai. What brings you here?" The blue haired boy asked also.

"This girl claims that she's Kirihara Akaya, the guy that was recommended from America." The so-called Renji guy explained. The two listened to him, and simultaneously turned to look at the girl.

"Tarundoru!" The black capped boy yelled.

"UWAAHH!" She was startled off her feet.

"Maa, Sanada, don't scare the girl." The blue-haired boy made an apologizing look and told his friend. He had really feminine voice, Akaya thought.

"This isn't the place for a fangirl to hang around!" He yelled. "Leave!"

And at that Akaya was offended. Who does he think he is, shouting at her like that?

"EXCUSE ME, MISTER!" She yelled too. The three were startled, and all the attention turned to her and the three.

"I DON'T GET WHY YOU CAN'T BELIEVE ME, BUT I'M HERE TO PLAY TENNIS!" She yelled. "**Looking old and shit…" **She mumbled the last part in English so that he wouldn't hear clearly.

"So you're the one that won the 16-Division Block for guys for three times in a row?" the blue haired boy asked.

"Yes." She said, groaning and giving why-the-hell-can-you-not-trust-people look. The three looked at each other.

"We can't allow a gir—" The black capped boy, Sanada, said before he was interrupted by the blue haired boy.

"Alright then. We'll accept your form later, so could you show us your skills? How about you play a match." He asked.

"Yukimu—"

"She's going to play and show us what she's got." He said, smiling like an angel. It froze Sanada to the bones, and he couldn't move.

"Y-Yes, of course."

"Alright then, who do I play?"

"Hm… good question. Hey, Niou!" He called out. Then the rattail douchebag walked over to them.

"What is it, buchou?" He asked lazily.

"You…!" She pointed her finger at him. He made a slightly troubled look.

"I want you to play a match with her."

"With her?" He pointed at her and blankly stated.

"Yes. Get to the court, I want to see it now."

Akaya hurriedly walked into the court, thinking of the ways to torture the douchebag and beat him. She laughed evilly inside as she took out her racket; then all the people that were busy signing up gathered outside the fence. They mumbled, saying "is a girl really going to play one of the regulars?" The regulars came in, and stood there to spectate.

The boy lazily stepped into the court. He was definitely underestimatings her; she could feel it, since it wasn't her first.

"Which?" He asked as they met at the net.

"Rough."

"Rough."

"I'll serve." She said.

'_I'll make sure you experience the biggest humiliation of your life…!__I'll crush you__'_


	2. Here Comes the Second Year Ace

"I'll serve." She cockily said.

'_I'll make sure you get the biggest humiliation of your life…!__I'll crush you__**'**_

Lucifer of Rikkaidai

Chapter 2: Here comes the Second Year Ace

"Normal"

"**English"**

"_Thoughts"_

Akaya bounced the ball couple of times before tossing it in the air; she served a ball easily and effortlessly. Then the rally continued, and Niou had won the point. She was playing text-book style with him as of the moment. She didn't use any skills or special shots of any kind. Niou won the first game easily. No, correct that; Akaya let him have the first and last game.

"Ho~ You're not bad, for a girl."

"Heh, save the nice talk for later." She said, putting the racket on her shoulder. They switched sides, and got in ready position to play again. Akaya was going to get serious this time; she wasn't going to stall time anymore. As soon as Niou served the ball, she returned the ball which flew as fast as the serve; when she thought she had him, he was already there, hitting the ball.

'_Oh crap'_she hurriedly hopped up, landed on one foot, and rushed to the ball.

"One footed split step…!" Marui, a redhead, exclaimed as he saw the girl execute a hard technique effortlessly. The others, especially the Big Three, were surprised as well. The other tennis club members who came started to mumble; they were definitely discouraged that a girl was keeping up with THE regular of Rikkaidai.

The rally continued; Akaya moved the ball around until Niou wasn't able to reach it. She was playing around the whole time, hitting the ball to the opposite corners of the baseline to make him run around.

For the whole game, Akaya pushed hard, and finally caught up with the score. Yanagi, the bob-cut haired boy with closed eyes, was already collecting "data" on the new girl; Yukimura was figuring out what spot she could take, and Sanada was feeling slightly sorry that he ignored her and yelled at her.

"That kid's really good! Getting a game from Niou-san…!" People mumbled; the regulars were definitely thinking the same, especially since she definitely looked younger than them.

The game continued, and the score was 4-1, with Akaya in a big lead. She was slightly tired whereas Niou was panting heavily.

"Huhuhu… it begins now." He softly mumbled, leaning down to Akaya's ear, as they switched sides.

"Yay. _Sly bastard…"_

Akaya got ready to serve again; she thought she pinpointed at the corner that he wasn't able to reach it. But he was there, and he returned it as if he expected it.

"It seems Niou-kun's got some of her habits down…" A purple-haired glasses boy in normal school uniform said.

It felt like the shot was being read every time Akaya was hitting it, and he was one step faster than her. It frustrated her; so she went up to the net to finish the rally. Even at the net every single shot was returned. When she did a drop shot, Niou came and attacked it, which hit Akaya hard on the face. She gave another game like that, and it was 4-2. She staggered a little bit, losing her balance.

"Ow…**"**

"S-Sorry." Niou said, slightly flustered; he never encountered THIS kind of situation before.

"**Hehehe…"**She raised her head and looked at him; and everyone mumbled again; her eyes were bloodshot.

"**Ah~ Don't worry, don't worry. My movements were bad, that's all."**She said slyly in English, pointing the racket at the boy; he didn't quite understand well, but he knew "don't worry." It's just that he couldn't stop feeling that it wasn't something to not worry about since her eyes were bloodshot and all.

"I'll crush you." She said, and got ready to return. Niou stood and served again; he served it as fast as he could this can. Akaya caught up to the ball, and returned it, but double the power and speed from previous rallies.

"Interesting…" Yanagi mumbled as his head went back and forth, tracing the ball with his eyes.

"Is she high?" Marui whispered to Jackal, his partner.

"I-I don't think she's high on drugs, at least."

Akaya won the game in straight points. She even hit him on the ankle, and said, "That's what you get for telling me the wrong directions. I was late because of that, you rattail."

The score was 5-2. They changed the court for one last time since Akaya was going to end it once and for all.

"Heh. Here goes my serve. Watch out; even _I _don't know where's going to go." Akaya gripped the ball with her knuckle, squeezed it, and tossed it in the air; the ball contacted the racket gut, and flew towards the service box at a tremendously fast speed. Niou got ready to hit it; but then the ball bounced in a totally random direction.

"W-What the…"

"40-Love! Akaya to serve!" Akaya won all the points just using her knuckle serve; then she was going to end it. She decided to have some fun; she served it underhanded, and Niou ran and the ball floated up in the air, which was perfect for Akaya to smash. Niou was scared since the girl was glaring at him; he covered himself, but Akaya finished the game with a drop shot.

"Game and match! Kirihara, 6-2." Sanada announced. The two players walked to the net; Akaya's bloodshot eyes were gone, and Niou was sweating and panting heavily. They met up at the net and shook hands.

"Good game." She said.

"Good game. Man, you're something, aren't ya kid?" Niou said, messing up her hair.

"Heh, I told you not to go easy in the first place."

"I was going easy the whole time, kid."

"Whatever." Akaya rolled her eyes. "That was boring. Was this really my "test"? How about you play me, mister. You look pretty strong." She said, challenging Sanada to a match. Everyone again mumbled, saying that she was insane, gutsy and all the stuff.

"Ho… I accept. But we'll go to only 3 since you already played."

"Deal." She said, and walked to the bench to get a drink of water. While she was doing so, Sanada went to get his own racquet.

"Hey." Niou, Marui, Jackal, and Yagyuu went to Akaya who was drinking water.

"Huh? Oh. Hi." She said. "Who were you again?" She asked indifferently.

"I haven't properly introduced myself. I'm Niou Masaharu, 3rd year."

"Marui Bunta, 3rd year. Shikuyoro~" The red haired guy said, blowing a bubblegum.

"Kuwahara Jackal, 3rd year. Nice to meet you." The dark bald dude said.

"I'm Yagyuu Hiroshi. It's my pleasure to make your acquaintance." The purple haired glasses boy formally introduced.

"Pleasure's all mine! I'm Kirihara Akaya, 2nd year!"

"So you were a second year…"

"Yup."

"Huhuhu, interesting girl, don't you think?" Yukimura chuckled and looked at her amusingly.

"Indeed. It seems her reputation wasn't just a rumor after all." Yanagi said. "Kirihara Akaya, 2nd year. Won the 16-year-olds division three times consecutively as a 1st year and 2nd year. She's right-handed, and her eye color changed after about 15 minutes into the game. Her speed increased by 40% almost, power 30%, but I don't know about stamina. Her personality seemed to change too." He said, looking at her casually chatting with the four regulars.

"She's an interesting player." Yukimura said. "We might need her on the team for our 3rd victory." He said seriously; Yanagi sensed that he was serious too.

"I'll be back." Sanada said, pulling out his racket.

"Don't try to crush her; I would like to know her capabilities more."

"Aah." He curtly answered and walked to the net. Akaya was already waiting for him at the net.

"Let's have a good match." He said.

"Sure."

"Which?"

"Smooth." Sanada spun the racquet.

"Rough. You can serve first."

Akaya got ready to serve. From start she used her knuckle serve. An ace. The two furiously rallied, and the score became 2-2.

"S-She's actually keeping up with the Emperor…!" Everyone murmured.

About 20 minutes into the game, Akaya's eyes began to become bloodshot again.

"Ho… the power and speed does increase. Then…"

"Fuurinkazan!" Everyone watched in awe.

"Attack as fierce as a fire!" He used his ka from fuurinkazan. The ball flung away the racquet in Akaya's hand.

"W-What?" She was shocked to see such a shot.

"Silent as a forest." He did a drop shot which she could not predict at all.

"Move as swift as a wind." She thought she got a point because he was at the other side of the court; then he seemed to sort of teleport there.

"Immovable like the mountain." She tried to get a passing shot, but he kept on hitting everything back.

"Game, Sanada! 3-2."

Akaya knelt on the ground, puffing and huffing. Sanada walked over to the girl; he held his hand out to help her up. She gladly accepted, and stood up.

"Hehehe… that's more like it." She mumbled.

"?"

"I've been looking for this challenge… The Big Three, huh? I'll beat you all and become the number one soon!" She said, and pointed her finger at the stoic fuku-buchou.

"Hm. I'll be looking forward." He said. Then Yukimura and Yanagi walked over to her.

"So, am I qualified now?"

"Huhuhu. Yes you are." Yukimura said.

"Alright! Where do I get the form?"

"I already have you registered." Yanagi answered.

"Okay, cool. Oh, and I've been wondering…" She trailed off. The three waited for her to continue. "Sanada-san, right…? Are you…uhh… the coach? Do you teach here?" She asked innocently; Sanada's face became dark, and the regulars, even Yukimura and Yanagi, cracked a laugh.

"He's our fuku-buchou." Marui said.

"WHAT? YOU'RE JOKING! He looks old!"

"PUHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA!" Then the regulars laughed harder.

"SILENCE!" Sanada yelled, but they couldn't stop.

"Then who's the buchou?"

"That would be me" Yukimura said, smiling.

"Oh~ okay."

"Ehem. As a Rikkaidai regular, you have to keep several things in mind. First, I expect to see you excel in academic performances. Second, I will not accept you making fuss and trouble anywhere else. And lastly, you must never lose."

"…he sounds like my uncle." Akaya whispered to Niou and Marui next to her; they snickered.

"NIOU! MARUI! 10 LAPS!"

"Aw come on, they just laughed. Do you forbid laughing too?" She asked. They all snickered again, and Sanada was flustered to the top.

"Anyways, let me know your size so I can get your uniform by tomorrow." He took out a piece of paper and a pen from his pocket and handed it to her. She wrote down her size and gave the paper and pen back.

"Wow, that's the smallest I've ever seen so far." Marui said as he saw the slip with her sizes.

"Maybe it's because I'm a girl, duh." Akaya rolled her eyes. "So when does the practice start?"

"Tomorrow. Five days a week, after school to 5:30."

"Okay!"

So Akaya's first day in school ended.

"Hey Akaya~" Marui called her while she was packing her things.

"Why are you calling me by the first name already?"

"It's because you're the ONLY kouhai in our team~" Niou slyly said.

"Oh god… don't tell me you're one of those people that tease kouhai for fun."

"I wonder~"

"AND NOW I THINK OF IT, FUKUBUCHOU'S THE GROUCHY SENPAI!" She yelled in terror. Sanada heard his name from afar, and glared at her.

"What was that, Kirihara?"

"N-Nothing, fukubuchou. Hehe." She smiled smugly.

"You'll get used to it. Oh, and don't mind if Yanagi somehow knows everything about you. He's the data master."

"…The stalker that knows everything about everyone…!"

"Hey! A HI-CHEW!" Marui grabbed the hi-chew that was sticking out of Akaya's bag, grabbed it, and ran for it.

"And the senpai that steals everything I eat…!" Her mouth was open, awed at how her prediction she did not wish for came true.

"Welcome to the team."


	3. How They Bonded

Lucifer of Rikkaidai

''_Welcome to the team"_

Chapter 3: How they bonded

"Welcome to the team." Niou smirked and looked at the bewildered girl. Oh, how much fun he was going to have with the newbie.

"Well anyways! We have have a team party to celebrate this~!" Marui hollered, putting headlock on Akaya clinging onto her.

"Senpai, you just want food." She said.

"Why, you don't like food?" Marui asked.

"Of course I fricking love food! Let's go~!"

"Now that's what I'm talking about!"

They ended up going to a nearby desert café with Niou and Jackal.

"The snack's on me today!" Marui said, handing her the menu. The waiter came and asked for orders; Niou and Jackal each ordered their things.

"Really…? Then I'll have a raspberry cheesecake, chocolate mousse cake, deluxe parfait, and special crepes." Akaya ordered things. And they were all expensive, too. The waiter went away, and Marui was gaping at Akaya while Niou and Jackal snickered.

"You're one hell of a kind, kid." Niou snickered and messed up Akaya's hair.

When the food came, Akaya devoured it like a beast; she was hungry after pulling out the red-eye mode two times. The three were amazed at how a girl could eat so much.

"What." Akaya mumbled with food in her mouth as she found the three gazing at her.

"How do you stay like… that when you eat so much." Jackal said, more like a statement tone.

"I don't eat that much!" She said, as she took another spoonful of parfait and a piece of cheesecake. The three were thinking, '_but you DO eat as much as Marui.'_

After their meal, the four sat and talked to get to "know" each other.

"What are the usual line-ups?" Akaya asked, asking all of the three.

"Let's see… singles one is definitely Yukimura. Then it's Sanada, and then it's either Yanagi or me depending on what we want to do." Niou explained.

"And then for doubles it's usually me and Jackal pair and Niou Yagyuu pair. The doubles line-ups don't really matter though. We're about equally strong."

"But we beat them last time" Niou whispered to Akaya. Marui of course heard it, and ranted about it.

"That was because I didn't have my favorite gum that day!"

"Gum…?"

"Yeah, I chew gum to help me relax and get a sugar boost."

"...Okaayy…?" Akaya said, doubtful of the unheard-of method.

"So, I heard you're from America. Where?"

"New York."

"OOOOOHHHHHH" Marui hyped up at "New York" and his eyes turned sparkly.

"Believe me, it's not that different from Tokyo."

"But still. I would love to go one day."

"So how was your first day at school?" Jackal asked; Akaya felt like he was the mother figure.

"Not bad. I like everything, but I hate history. I got in trouble today because of that one stupid quiz." Akaya crossed her arms and pouted, thinking of history class.

"Why did you get in trouble? You know, Sanada doesn't really like the regulars getting bad reputation. He'll slap us or make us run laps."

"Gah…! That's so mean! Why would you slap someone!"

"That's because it's Sanada. He's always really strict. Anyways, why'd you get in trouble?"

"Well, there was a quiz asking the three factors of growth or whatever… and honestly, I hate history, so I never pay attention in class, and I never study so the answer I put kind of got me in trouble. And darn it, what kind of growth is that thing talking about? I still don't get it." Akaya said, leaning back on the chair and furrowing eyebrows with crossed arms.

"It means economic growth." Jackal said, smiling from finding Akaya's attitude cute.

"OH THAT'S WHAT IT WAS… che, I don't care anymore."

"Well what did you put for the answer? It's only a quiz, right? You could make some bullshit and still get the right answer if you have luck." Niou said.

"Food, love, and sleep." Akaya said, pouting.

"…" The three merely looked at Akaya; then they burst into laughter.

"HAHAHAHAH!"

"FOOD, LOVE AND SLEEP!" They laughed, slapping their knees and banging on the table.

"Hey, like I said, I HATE history."

"Hahaha! You're one of a kind, kiddo!" Niou messed up her hair again to partly annoy her and partly praise her for her bravery.

"But you're doing well in other subjects, right?" Jackal worried and asked.

"I gueeessss?" She trailed off. She liked sciences but that was about it. "I like math and science and that's about it."

"Um… Sanada will definitely choke you for doing badly in more than one subject." Marui said, shuddering. "I remember when I bombed my math quiz… Sanada made me run laps until I couldn't walk."

"What is he, a paranoid anal Asian dad?" Akaya grumbled. "He looks just like my uncle!" The three laughed again.

"You know Sanada won't accept hearing that again since you're a regular now. He'll go strict on you like he is to the rest of us."

"Psh, he won't slap a girl." Akaya scoffed.

"Yes he will." The three said simultaneously.

"…" Akaya sweatdropped; so he was definitely one of those grouchy senpai that scolds everyone for everything they do.

* * *

><p>"What do you think of our new addition to the team?" Yukimura asked as he walked beside him; the sun was setting and the Big Three were returning home together.<p>

"An interesting player indeed." Yanagi first spoke. "She might become the key figure this year; she beat Niou even with him noticing her every habits she still beat him. That's not something a normal tennis player could do."

Sanada listened to his old buddy; he definitely trusted him with his life, and by the look of it Yanagi favored having her on the team. If he liked it, then there was always a benefit.

"Sanada?" Yukimura made Sanada snap out of his thoughts.

"Yes… we needed an 8th player anyways, and I guess she's better than the ones that were trying to sign up by looks today."

"She took 2 games from you! That's certainly something. I don't think anyone else that signed up today could've done that. I would like to see her play a full set with every member of the team." Yukimura's voice got slightly high from joy.

"I guess so."

"She's Rikkaidai's junior ace; she'll be our hidden card." Yanagi seemed to plan something and said. "And to make others underestimate her because of her gender… that's a good tactic every time. We can have her learn and make other players grovel at the same time." Yanagi's closed eyes slightly glinted joy as he said this.

"Yeah. And it's pretty fun to look at other people traumatized after being beaten by a girl. I think we should use this tactic every time." Yukimura chuckled.

'_Never get into a fight with these two…' _Sanada thought to himself.

"What position should we make her play?" Yukimura asked Yanagi and Sanada.

"I'm thinking of singles since she plays singles very well, both tactically and technically." Yanagi first said. "But I have a feeling she could be a flexible doubles player also."

"Hm… we'll test it out soon. Let's arrange a match with our old senpai-tachi; I want to see how well she does and how much experience she has."

"I'll arrange that as soon as possible." Yanagi said, being the proud manager and treasurer (and secretary) of Rikkaidai.

"Good. Are there any other problems to having Kirihara on our team?" Yukimura asked them.

"No, unless…" Yanagi trailed off.

"Unless?"

"The probability of the news that a girl entered Rikkaidai's team will spread throughout the school is 100%; I'm just worried that Kirihara might see some disadvantages from it. For example, the fangirls."

Sanada froze at the mentioning of the "fangirls" who he despised a lot.

"Girls have zeal, and they're not afraid to pick on her if their zeal takes them there. And if you include the fanboys who will end up following Kirihara then… it's going to be a mess."

"Then we'll keep everyone except the team out of the tennis court area." Sanada strictly said; he was going to be so annoyed if what his friend said really happened.

* * *

><p>"I'm hooooomeee!" Akaya yelled as she took her shoes off at the door.<p>

"Welcome home, Akaya!" Her mother ran out of the kitchen with her aprons still on and greeted Akaya. Akaya sat down at the dinner table.

"So how was school today?" She asked; what a typical question.

"It was good. I made some new friends, had fun in classes…"

"You're not slacking off in history again, right?" Her mother gave her a piercing glare as she took a knife and sliced a chicken with it.

"_U__l__p…_ N-No, of course not! _I definitely did not stay after class to make up for a quiz I bombed!_"

"Great! And how was the team?"

"Oh, haha. Something really funny happened. So the vice-captain thought I was a fangirl so he yelled at me at first but I ended up beating this one regular. And I played the vice-captain too; it was only up to 3 games to win, but still, he was really good. I lost big time."

"If you say like that, then he must be really good!"

"Yeah, they're known as the Three Demons, or Big Three of Rikkaidai. Well, I got accepted as a regular anyways, so it's all chill. I'll beat them all one day!" Akaya fisted the air.

She ate dinner, and went upstairs to do homework and things; she finished the math and science homework in thirty minutes, then she looked at her homework for history, and decided that she'd finish that later. That's what everyone does, no? Then Akaya started playing some games, and went to sleep, excited for school (more like the tenni club) next day.

"I'M LATTTTTEEEEEEEE!" Akaya yelled as she ran out the door with her uniform on, holding onto the school bag and the tennis bag. She had a toast in her mouth as she dashed like desperately to school. It was 7:55; she had to get there in 5 minutes. At the gate, she saw people running and Sanada and some other student discipline club members ready to catch some tardy students.

"CRAAAPP! MOVE, OUT OF MY WAY!"Akaya blurted out as she dashed full-speed to the gate.

"5… 4… 3… 2…" some member started counting off; Akaya whizzed through tens of kids, and safely entered before the time ended.

"1!" When the countdown ended, the row of discipline students blocked the gate so that they could see which ones were the late ones.

"Hehe~" Akaya walked backwards as she saw the poor kids being scolded by the head discipline teacher. Then she bumped into a wall.

"OW! What the—" and she turned around; it wasn't a wall, but it was Sanada.

"Oh, mornin' fuku-buchou!" Akaya greeted happily, waving her hand. He just crossed his arms and stared down at the girl.

"You're late."

"Huh? I'm not late, I got past before they ended the countdown. Chill ya tities, man." She said; Sanada, slightly flustered, cleared his throat.

"The Rikkaidai regular must not show weakness in anything; now, get to class." He ordered, and went past her.

"The Rikkaidai wegulars mwust not thyo weaknwess in anythwing" Akaya mumbled and imitated what he said in a funny way.

She got to the class, and sat down; then the teacher began speaking.

"Now, class. You all know that the evaluative test is coming up, right?" The class nodded except Akaya.

"WHAT?" She meant to only think of it in her head, but she ended up blurting it out loud. The class giggled and laughed at the funny reaction.

"Yes, Kirihara. There is an evaluative test on the first month of the school. It's going to be next week, so I hope you study well. If you do well you can move up to the third years' class."

"…" Akaya was not believing what she had just heard. She didn't worry about math, science, or even literature for that matter since she could be excused for "being new to Japan." But the problem was, A. She was going to bomb history, B. She was definitely going to be the last in class for history, and C. That meant some good scolding or a slap or two from the demon fuku-buchou.

During the lunch break Akaya was just gobbling down her food when she was suddenly swarmed over by people.

"Hey, hey! Are you really the regular for boy's tennis team?"

"Yeah, I heard you're really good!"

"So are you in their team now?"

"Hehe, that I am."

"Wowwww"

"Oi, Akaya!" Then a familiar voice called her name from the door; it was Marui and Niou. They walked in, and the people made the way for the glorious regulars of Rikkaidai tennis team. Akaya kind of made a face; she wasn't happy to see them in class since they probably came to visit her for impure purposes.

"What." She frowned and said.

"You brat, you're supposed to get happy to see your senpai!" Marui said, giving her a headlock.

"Stop…!" Akaya managed to get out of his grasp. "Why are you here, senpai-tachi?"

"We were bored."

'…_Y-You're kidding…'_Akaya sweatdropped at the childishness of the two. "We came to make sure you're really in this class."

"Why… would you want to know which class I'm in." Akaya gave them a suspicious glance. The two just grinned like creepers.

"Hehehe… OH HEY HI-CHEW!" Marui grabbed the hi-chew that was sticking out of Akaya's bag; she saved that up to eat after lunch. It was grape flavored, which Akaya liked the most.

"NOOOOO! GIVE THAT BACK SENPAI!" Akaya desperately tried to snatch it away, but she was a tad bit short. Her lunch-buddy, Reiko, watched her go and snickered a little.

"HERE NIOU, CATCH!" Marui threw it to Niou, and Niou caught it and ran out of the class. The people were watching them very amusingly.

"I'LL MAKE YOU A WOMAN IF YOU DON'T GIVE THAT BACK! STOOOOPPP!" And Akaya dashed out the door to catch Niou.

"Kehehehehe!" Marui laughed, and ran after Akaya and Niou for fun.

"STOP!" Akaya was running through down the stairs, and out the building. Niou was still running, and Akaya was tailing right behind him, but he was just out of her reach. Akaya wasn't going to let that hi-chew get away though.

"SENPAI GIVE THAT BACK!"

"Come and get it!" He yelled and laughed as he looked back. Akaya gave a final boost and tackled him; they ended up falling down on a grass. Niou ended up on top of Akaya.

"Ohlala~" Marui snickered as he saw this.

"I GOT YOU!" Akaya said as she looked up and grabbed the candy; but as she looked up, they ended up crashing their heads.

"OUCH!"

"OWWW!" Niou rolled off, clenching his forehead and writhing around in pain.

"AHAHAHAHAHA!" Marui pointed at them and started laughing non-stop.

The two rolled apart in pain and clenched their heads. Then Niou started laughing; Akaya couldn't help but laugh also.

"Hehehe. You're a funny kid, Akaya."

"Hey, this wouldn't have happened if you didn't steal my hi-chew." She said and sat up. Niou sat up next to her; Akaya unwrapped the hi-chew. Marui was now sitting next to Akaya, drooling and his eyes pinned on the candy.

"Here you go." Akaya handed them the pieces.

"Thanks."

They ate hi-chew and bonded like that.


	4. To Not Get Slapped

Lucifer of Rikkaidai

Chapter 4: To not get slapped

After Akaya came back from the little "incident" with Niou and Marui, the classmates surrounded her and admired her.

"Woaaah, so you really are the regular…!"

"Yup I am!"

While Akaya was walking out of the building with Reiko and her friends after she changed into tennis clothes, three guys came to her and blocked her path.

"Hey you. Are you that girl who's the regular for boys' tennis team?" He asked, rather rudely.

"Yeah."

"Heh, not bad, not bad…" Then the boy scanned her head to toe, and Akaya didn't like it one bit.

"What do you want."

"Not bad looking; you're pretty cute. You want to go out with me? I'm from the soccer club; you can have more fun with us." He said, and snatched her arm.

"Do you mind?" A familiar voice called out; when Akaya turned around, Big Three were coming.

"Heh, what do you want, Yukimura." He said as he grabbed Akaya and tilted her chin up. Akaya was getting pretty annoyed, no, angry.

"Sorry, I would like to have our precious kouhai back." Yukimura said, with smile disappeared from his ever-smiling lips.

"I'll make you a woman." Akaya hissed, but the boy ignored and inched closer to Akaya.

"I'm just trying to have fun with this girl in your tea—OOF"

Akaya had kicked him hard in the crotch. The boy coiled, let Akaya go, and she pushed him and he fell backwards.

"Hahahahahahaha" Akaya pointed at the boy who was in pain and laughed. Yukimura and Renji stifled a laugh, and Sanada groaned a little.

"Why you little—" The boy recovered in pain and tried to strike Akaya. Before Akaya noticed, Yukimura was standing in front of her, blocking the guy from getting to her.

"I'd stop if I were you." Yukimura said coldly with a straight face, making the guy back down a bit. He grumbled, and finally stormed away.

"Thanks buchou! You're awesome." Akaya said, giving him a thumbs-up."

"Huhuhu, hey there Kirihara. You gotta be careful, I won't be around to cover your back all the time. Anyways, here's your uniform." He handed her the uniform; it said XXS on the tag. "It was hard finding a right size, but we still got it. Alright then, get dressed and let's start practice. Make sure you save one pair for game and another pair for practice."

"Okay~" She said, happy to get her uniform as a proud regular. She dashed to the changing room to put her uniform on. When she left to the courts, she earned a lot of stares form the non-regulars.

She looked around, fascinated by the atmosphere which she's never experienced before. She walked in with her bag; she set it down, and had a happy look on the face until Marui came and tackled her into a headlock.

"Ack…! Marui-senpai! Stop!"

"Hehehe~ warm up with me kiddo!" He said, letting her go.

"Okay." Akaya took out her racquet, stretched a little, and began short-court rallying with Marui.

"So I heard you won the U-16 boys division tournament three times in a row!" Marui commented as he swung and hit the ball.

"Yeah. But it was a joke; no one took tennis really seriously."

"Heh~ How come you came here though? You could've gone to some other places like Seigaku; they're pretty tough."

"Rikkaidai obviously has the best tennis team, duh. I was going to go to Hyotei, but I wanted to join the tennis team here."

"I see."

"Besides, I don't want to get stuck in between rich, spoiled kids." She said. Marui laughed a little; she was right. Hyotei _was_ full of rich, spoiled kids.

"Alright, everyone 10 laps!" Yukimura yelled; everyone dropped their racquets and started running around the courts. Akaya was among them too; much to her disliking, a lot of boys were tired out after the 5th lap.

Akaya and the regulars finished the fastest; when she stepped into the courts again to practice, fangirls and fan_boys_ surrounded the courts just outside the fences.

"KYAAA~! KIRIHARA-CHAN~!" Some girls squealed, and so did some guys. Sweat started forming on Akaya's forehead and she flinched a little. She didn't expect to have fanboys, yet alone fan_girls_ even more so. She expected them to get jealous but… guess they didn't.

"This is scary…" Akaya mumbled; Niou, who stood beside her, snickered.

"You got some nice fans out there; some are girls! You know how hard it is for a girl to get fangirls." He said, waving his finger. Then Sanada fumed in anger and yelled at them; even when scattering away, the fangirls did not seize squealing "Sanada-sama~!" and all.

"Regulars, gather!" Yukimura hollered; he was so different from the usual ever-smiling-flower-boy when he ordered around during practices. Akaya followed Marui and Niou and ran up to their buchou. They stood in a circle, gaze fixed at Yukimura. Even though as an individual, a lot of them were goofy and all, but were all serious enough when it was during the tennis practice. Akaya appreciated it.

"The regional tournament starts in three weeks from now; so to prepare for the nationals coming up afterwards, Renji has prepared practice matches against high schoolers and other schools as well."

"Starting two weeks from now after the evaluative tests, we're going to have practice matches at least three times a week and have practices every Saturday." Yanagi said, and everyone nodded.

"And for the evaluative test… I expect everyone to place at least in top one-third in the grade; understood?" Sanada said, with his I'll-kill-you-if-you-don't glare. The regulars nodded. Now Akaya was freaking out; she would easily place top 5 if it only counted math and science; definitely NOT everything else, especially history. History would practically bring down, let's see, and A to a C.

"Oh, mah, gawd." Akaya unconsciously let out after hearing that.

"Do you have a problem." Sanada glared and asked more like a statement.

"Huh? N-no sir, I do not." Akaya said, fidgeting a little.

"Alright then, let's begin practice."

So the regulars practiced; Akaya forgot about everything and focused on tennis. But it still bothered her from deep inside.

"What should I do…!" Akaya mumbled as she sat down on the bench to have a drink.

"Probability of you worrying over the test, 79%." Yanagi popped out of nowhere and monotonously said. Akaya was taken off guard. "So, which subject are you worrying about?"

"_He knows everything…! _Uhm… everything that's not math and science. Especially history."

"History?" Yanagi raised his eyebrow; it was the easiest subject if you memorized the facts and vocabularies and things.

"I know people say it's easy, but it's always history that messes up my performance!" Akaya let out a frustrated sigh.

"I just absolutely suck at history!" Akaya stomped her feet and grabbed her hair. "What am I going to do, Yanagi-senpai? Fukubuchou will kill me for sure if I place lower bottom just because of history!" She desperately begged and grabbed him.

"Hm… he surely will slap you at least…" Yanagi pondered; then he noticed the girl about to cry (figuratively) and eyes watery. "Don't worry, you can improve in history any time."

"I can't! I tried but I can't."

"Well then, we'll tutor you. All the regulars, and some may seem a bit… unlikely, but all of them are smart. You could ask anyone for help. I'll help you too." He said.

"Really? Thanks, Yanagi-senpai!" Akaya hugged him tight from her unconscious American customs, which kind of surprised Yanagi; then she ran away happily to the court.

"Akaya!"

"Yes buchou~" She hopped over to Yukimura and looked up at him with big green eyes.

Yukimura smiled at the cute kouhai. "You'll be rallying with me." Yukimura walked onto the court. Akaya got excited to rally the buchou, and hopped on over to the other side.

"Yukimura sure is serious with the girl." Yanagi said as he stood next to Sanada who observed their rally. He felt it too—Yukimura was serious about making Akaya the key figure. His eyes glinted with unusual joy he usually did not have as he rallied with Akaya. Sanada nodded at his friend's comment and asked.

"…Do you think she could carry on the team next year?"

"That I do not know; she's yet to achieve her fullest potential. But she might grow to something way better and stronger." Yanagi said, as his eyes followed the ball. "And foremost she has passion and eagerness to improve. That's the best power out of everything."

The two just watched her rally. After the practice, Yanagi went up to her.

"Akaya."

"Yeah?"

"During lunch tomorrow some regulars and I will visit you to look after history; so stay in class."

"Alright."

Then Akaya walked back home; surprisingly, Yanagi was living in the same direction as Akaya. They walked together and chatted, until Yanagi stopped in front of a house.

"You live here?" Akaya asked in surprise; Yanagi nodded.

"I live right here…" Akaya pointed at the house right next to it. She really didn't expect this kind of dramatic, cliché thing to happen.

"Ah, that's a surprise… I should add that to my data." Yanagi mumbled.

"Well then, bye-bye senpai~!" Akaya waved and went inside. "I'm home~~"

"Welcome home. How was the practice?"

"Fun. People can actually play, so I'm really happy. I think the captain's really, really good." Akaya explained as she set her bag down on the couch.

"That's good to hear. Say, Akaya, what's this evaluative test thing…? I heard it from Mrs. Yanagi next door." She said, looking at Akaya with a confess-or-else look.

"Urp…" Akaya gulped a little. "Well… there's an evaluative test next week, but don't worry, I heard it's really easy. So, uh… I'll be going upstairs…" Akaya sneaked upstairs.

"What about literature? Social sciences? And history?"

"Ugh." Akaya paused; then she started sweating heavily. Her mom had her all figured out. "Uhm… errr… so yeah, you see…"

"Kirihara Akaya, you better not deliberately fail history like last year!" She made a very intimidating face and almost threatened.

"O-of course not." Akaya laughed a little. "Um… oh! The senpai-tachi in the tennis team are going to tutor me so I can improve! Don't worry! Yanagi-senpai's one of them!"

"Hm… I guess if it's Yanagi-kun I could trust…" She gave a final suspicious glare, and finally gave an approving look. Akaya sighed and ran upstairs.

"..cking stupid history… wajsdfsl;kjdf"She mumbled continuously and began her homework. Then someone called on the phone; Akaya picked it up.

"Hello!" She couldn't suppress her extreme anger towards history and shouted on the phone.

"_Whoa, there, kiddo! Someone's angry!" _A familiar voice came out the speaker.

"NIOU-SENPAI! What the— WHY DO YOU HAVE MY NUMBER?!"

"_I found it in your tennis bag while you were practicing. Nice phone. Man, I wish I had an iPhone._"

"Wha… wha…!" Akaya was flustered more than ever.

"_HI AKAYA~! EHEHEHEHEHEHEHHEH!" _Marui yelled from the background.

"MARUI-SENPAI'S THERE TOO?"

"_Yup. Well, I called cuz we were bored. Oh, __make sure to __check the picture gallery. Then bye." _Then Niou just hung up; Akaya gave the phone a contemptuous look. After he hung up, Akaya looked at the photos, feeling very curious but worried at the same time; then she found a picture with some guy putting a hand under his shirt and lifting it up; his top was half-exposed. The photo was zoomed into the boy's abs and chest.

"UWWA—!" Akaya dropped the phone and yelped, but blocked her mouth before her mother could hear it; then she got a text message. She picked up the phone, and read it.

_LOL. I hope you liked mah sexy body ;) Actually, Marui took that while I was wiping my sweat. Puri, look and enjoy while you can._

Akaya had the most confused, bewildered, and shocked look on her face.

'_Am I going to stay sane with these people!'_


	5. Wild Card

Lucifer of Rikkaidai

"Normal"

'_Thoughts/non-speech'_

Chapter 5: Wild Card

Akaya immediately deleted the picture after she got a text message from Niou; she definitely did _not_ need to enjoy staring at the rattail's naked top. She took out the regulars' uniform she had received and tried it out again. It was yellow, white, and black; and there were red ones made for colder seasons, which was coming up pretty fast. Unlike the girls' tennis team, the shirt wasn't as curvy and it had a slightly different design. The bottom was shorts instead of skorts, which Akaya thanked Yukimura for.

"Mom!" She ran downstairs to show her new uniform.

"Yes?"

"This is the Rikkaidai uniform!"She proudly said and showed herself to her mom.

"Ooh, I like the color a lot. And it's not a skirt!"

"I don't need a skirt." Akaya made a face, and ran upstairs.

The next day, Akaya became more famous in the school. Girls in the class first started out by disliking her, but liked her as they got to know her.

Akaya was hanging out with her friends in class during lunch, then there were kyakyas and screams outside the class. Akaya wondered what made people so frantic, and knew immediately as Yanagi, Sanada, and Yukimura, the Big Three entered the classroom. Some girls in the class screamed and squealed too, and Akaya was getting pretty scared by them.

'_Oh… Jesus Chri… OH MAH GAD I SWEAR SHE JUST DROOLED' _She thought as she scanned the entire class and sweatdropped.

"Akaya." Yanagi called her first. Akaya flinched a little, and greeted them a bit awkwardly. Actually, a lot.

"H-Hi senpai-tachi!" Akaya stuttered.

"Hi Akaya." Yukimura smiled as usual. "Hi. We're supposed to help Akaya on history; could we borrow her?" He asked Reiko and the other friends with his angelic, shining smile. They all blushed saying yes, of course, and things and moved for them.

"Let's waste no time and start." Sanada said strictly and brought a chair to sit down; the three surrounded the poor, intimidated girl. Akaya robotically took her books out and put it on the desk; then she started to draw blank.

"Alright; let's start with basic facts. First, what are the three factors of growth?" Yanagi asked. Akaya was not believing this.

"That question again! Senpai, I don't know what this stupid growth is!"

"Try answering. Come on, you can do it." Yanagi encouraged her a little, which did not work on a certain curly haired girl who disliked history with her passion.

"…Love, food, and sleep." Akaya pouted and said as she rocked back and forth on her chair with her arms crossed. Yukimura burst into a laugh, and Yanagi smiled at the silly girl. Sanada was just rubbing his temple.

"We've got a long way to go." Sanada mumbled. They spent almost an entire lunch time studying; Yukimura went to the school store and bought some snacks for them. Gladly, Akaya was able to improve with the help of the three extremely smart senpai.

"How are you doing in other subjects?" Yanagi asked Akaya as she closed the history textbook.

"Oh, literature I'm still a bit weak at… and math, science and everything else it's fine." Akaya said.

"…" Sanada looked at her as if he didn't believe a word.

"I really am!" Akaya was feeling so guilty by the looks he sent her; she shouldn't be the one in a defense position, yet she was totally defending herself.

"Then try doing this problem." Yanagi wrote down a chemistry problem that involved math on a paper; that was too easy. Akaya solved it in a breeze. The three were impressed by the unexpected skill of the girl.

"I'm better at math and chemistry than history and literature." The three nodded in satisfaction and relief that their kouhai was good at everything except history and a little bit of literature; then the bell rang, signaling the start of the last two classes of the day.

"Then we'll be going." The three stood up. When they stood up, of course, all the girls, as well as the guys' attention pinned on them and Akaya.

"Bye senpai~ see you at practice~" The three waved and left. Immediately after they disappeared, girls in the class all swarmed over Akaya and began throwing tons of questions at her. She was so scared by the fanatical and obsessed girls; they looked like they were almost possessed. She was glad that at least Reiko wasn't like that.

History class went by so slow. Yanagi told her to listen to the teacher and not fool around, and the test grade would raise at least 10%. She tried… but she just couldn't help but fall asleep. But it was all fine, since Akaya could sleep well without being caught. She was the master at that.

After somehow sitting through her last class, Akaya went into the changing room and got changed into the yellow jersey. She stepped onto the courts, and began training by the regime Yanagi had assigned for her; she was glad the Big Three took her seriously and didn't treat her differently because of her gender.

"Yanagi-senpai." Akaya walked up to him after her hour of training session. Yanagi looked at her, and gave her a signal to speak.

"I want the training regime to be harder."

"It looks like this is enough for you right now, Akaya." He said calmly. Akaya shook her head.

"I can handle more. It was really tiring at first, but now it's a bit too easy. Can I do some more challenging ones?" When she asked, Yanagi couldn't help but smile at how Akaya really wanted to improve.

"Of course. I'll get a new training menu for you by tomorrow."

"Okay. Can you triple the menu?"

"You sure?" He raised his eyebrows.

"Positive." Akaya determinedly said, and went back to rally with Niou. Yanagi watched the girl go, and smiled. He was satisfied by the determination of the new regular of the team. Yukimura and Sanada walked to him as they noticed Akaya talking to Yanagi.

"What was Akaya saying?"

"She wants to triple the training menu. Apparently the menu I doubled for her is getting a bit too easy."

"Triple…?" Yukimura said, slightly surprised at the boldness of the girl. She was already doing double the work of the regulars since her body conditions were a bit weaker compared to the regulars; and tripling that would be six times of the regulars' training.

"Huhuhu, that girl's really hard on herself." Yukimura smiled and chuckled, more and more satisfied with the only 2nd year in the team. "Right, Sanada?" Yukimura looked at the stoic fukubuchou and asked; he didn't reply for few seconds.

"Aah." He had a hint of smile on his lips.

"It seems like he's acknowledging her"Yukimura whispered to Yanagi, who nodded in approval with a small grin. Sanada, having sharp ears, heard it.

"Hmph." He cleared his throat in hope to cover up his blushes from embarrassment; after all, he was the one that was being the hardest on the girl. "We'll have to see that after the evaluative test." He scoffed and said strictly.

"That might be a little hard considering her skills in history especially…" Yanagi said.

"Rikkaidai regulars must not have any weakness." Sanada retorted with much rigidness and walked away. As he walked away, Yukimura chuckled.

"He really does care for our kouhai."

Akaya was sitting down on a bench after a training circuit; she had 5 kg of weights on her legs, and 2 kg of weights on her wrists.

She felt a bit cold from her sweat drying off of her skin; she shuddered a little.

"Keep your body warm or else your muscles will freeze." Sanada said as he draped a jacket over her; after that he walked away without another word. Of course, the regulars saw this and they all smiled or snickered.

"Huhuhu… Sanada really is caring for our cute kouhai~" Marui said and blew a bubble.

"Marui, 10 laps."

"Dammit…"

That day after practice, Akaya got an email from Yanagi; curious, she opened it, and it was a new daily training menu for her. The training menu seemed very, _very_ harsh. Nonetheless, Akaya was going to follow it and become stronger to defeat the three demons one day. She read the rest of the email;

_Akaya, here's the training menu. If it's too much for you then don't overdo it and reduce it by half. __Also,__ Genichirou is expecting a lot from you. He expects you to __do well on the evaluative test__. Consider it as his way of showing love. And tomorrow we'll be playing __the __Rikkaidai __graduates__. Then, see you tomorrow._

_-Yanagi Renji_

"High schoolers, huh…" She mumbled as she read it. She was excited to play against high schoolers.

"**IT MEANS~ NO WORRIES! For the rest of your day~**" Her cell phone rang; she was startled, but she checked it. It was from Niou.

"Why would he call me…" Akaya groaned and picked it up again. "Hello."

"_Yo~ Akaya~_" His voice came out lazily.

"Yeah?"

"_I got bored_."

"…" Veins popped a little on Akaya's forehead. _'What's this idiot trying to pull…!'_

"_Anyways, are you busy right now?" _Niou broke the silence between the two and asked Akaya; it didn't sound like he intended to pull any nasty pranks.

"Huh?"

"_I was wondering if you could hit with me at the street tennis courts. I tried calling Marui and Yagyuu but they're both busy."_

"Sure, I'll go. But I don't know where this place is."

"_I'll pick you up. You live next to Yanagi right?"_

"Y-Yeah."

"_I'll see you in fifteen minutes then." _He said and hung up. Akaya still had the phone to her ear and the bleeping sound of the phone came out.

'_How… does he know I live next to him?' _She put the sketchy thought behind, and began dressing up into tennis apparel. She grabbed her tennis bag and left the room.

"Mooooom"She called her mom in the living room as she ran down the stairs. She was reading a book on the couch.

"Yes?"

"One of my teammates wanted to play tennis with me. I'm going out right now."

"Alright. Who is it?" She looked away from the book and asked Akaya; she wanted to know who Akaya was going to hit with. Then she checked the clock which pointed to six o'clock. It was getting pretty dark outside, but she counted on her daughter's teammates (since told her how trustworthy every single player in the team was) and decided to let her go.

"Niou-senpai." She said as she put on her shoes.

"Ah… okay. You have to introduce me to your team one day, Akaya, so that I know just what kind of guys you're hanging around with. How about we invite them over to dinner?"

"Okay. But we're practically like families! I get to see them seven days a week now. Ooh, I forgot to tell you, Yukimura-buchou made practice seven days a week instead of six since the preliminary matches are coming up."

"My, my, what a busy team…"

"We are number one in the nation after all! Alright then, see you!"

"Bye honey! Don't be late!"

Akaya closed the door to her front door, and walked along the small trail in her front porch before arriving at the small gate. Niou was standing outside with his hands in his pockets. A typical Niou.

"Senpai!" She greeted as she closed the gate.

"Hey." He replied, shifting his body a little. "Nice house you got there."

"Thanks. Oh, by the way… how did you know I lived next to Yanagi-senpai?" She felt so curious that she just had to ask her.

"I have my ways…" Niou's eyes glinted in who-knows-what-the-hidden-meaning-is light, and grinned at Akaya who was slightly frightened. "Hahaha, just kidding, just kidding."

'_O-Of course…' _Akaya sweatdropped.

"Yanagi told me that you live next door. And we've all been to each other's house before, so we know." He explained casually which made Akaya's face loosened a little.

"Alright, shall we go?" Niou asked, and Akaya nodded. They started walking down the road leading to a nearby park.

"Are the street tennis courts free to use?"

"Yeah. It's public court so we don't have to pay or anything. There are a lot of people though—we could meet up some good opponents if we're lucky."

"Alright, I'm pumped up!" Akaya fisted the air. Niou chuckled lightly at the enthusiastic girl.

As they walked, they exchanged some trivial conversations.

"Do you have any siblings?" Niou asked, after he was done explaining that he had an older sister who was the total opposite of him.

"I have an older brother. He goes to Tokyo University now!" She said, smiling. _'And he's kinda like you… with that rattail and all.'_

"Tokyo University… that's impressive."

They walked for about ten minutes more; then they finally came to the big park and spotted the street tennis courts on top of a hill. The two walked up the stairs, and found a lot of people playing.

"Wow… there's a lot of people."

"Oh man, this is bad… I didn't expect this many people to be here. You know, Yanagi's intending to hide you until the day of the matches since you're our wild card. Actually, he's done a good job of not leaking the news out for two days."

"I see… then what am I supposed to d—"

"Hey, you guys seem new." Someone called them.


	6. The World Isn't Fair

Lucifer of Rikkaidai

Chapter 6: The World Isn't Fair

"Hey, you guys seem new." Someone called Akaya and Niou from behind. They both turned around and found a girl with a short hair with hairpins on both sides.

"Yeah, we're totally new here."

"On a date, huh?" She asked, and smiled at the two; Akaya just stared at her, dumbfounded, and Niou amusingly observed Akaya's reaction with a sly grin. Niou was probably in middle of making his "playful and fun" schemes.

"Yea—"

"Uh, no, he's just a senpai." Akaya blocked his mouth with her hand before a word even flew out of his unpredictable and hateful mouth.

"Oh, I see. Well anyways we do only doubles matches here. You know a lot of kids from other schools come too! Like Hyotei, Seigaku and all…" She said. "I'm Tachibana An, by the way." She smiled and introduced herself.

"I'm Kirihara Akaya." She grinned to and cheerfully introduced.

"I'm Niou Masaharu. Well… it looks like we have to wait a lot." Niou scanned the area and said; there were a lot of people playing and it seemed like waiting would take more time than playing.

"A bit."

"I see. Akaya, let's just go." Niou looked at Akaya and gestured. Akaya nodded and left with him after saying good-bye to the girl.

"Senpai, we could've just waited." Akaya said as she walked alongside Niou. They were now heading to Rikkaidai courts where there won't be people from other schools.

"That's not the point; remember, you're our hidden card. Yanagi made an effort to hide you so that other schools don't collect data about you, and we're going to do so until it's discovered. I saw people in Hyotei uniforms, and it's better if we avoid them." Niou tapped her nose with his finger a little and explained.

"Ah~ Okay."

They arrived at Rikkaidai courts after about twenty minutes; they set their bags down, took out their racquets, and began playing lightly.

After they were done rallying for an hour, they slumped on the bench, breathing and sweating heavily. They were pretty tired from the team practice, and on top of that the played more with the power wrists still on. When Niou checked the time, it was about 8:20.

"Come on, I'll treat you something since I dragged you out." He said, packing up. Akaya's eyes opened wide and brightened in joy as she heard her favorite vocabulary "treat" come out of his fellow senpai's mouth. Oh, how glad she was to come out and play.

"Yessss"

"But just one."

"Aww… okay."

So the two walked out to town not too far from Akaya's house. Niou apparently lived close to Akaya and Yanagi also, and so did Marui. He took her to a popular gelato shop and Akaya was delighted to try something she never tried before. They bought their deserts and sat down at a two-person table and ate and chatted. She felt pretty close to Niou although they've only known for a week now; he really did remind her of her brother because of the little rattail. Then she snickered a bit, which made Niou a bit confused.

"What's so funny? Tell me."

"It's just that I didn't think I would hang out with a person that taught me the wrong direction on the first day of the school." And she continued to snicker. "I really _swore_ to the world that I'd pay back. Hehe."

Niou chuckled also, thinking of his first encounter with the girl.

"Oh~ Ahaha. I do that to a lot of people."

"You do? How evil!"

"It's not evil, it's called having fun."

"…Remind me to never ask you for directions again."

"Puri."

After they were done eating, they headed back home. Niou decided to drop her off at her house courteously like a gentleman (he seriously needed to stop being around Yagyuu so much; gentlemanliness was rubbing off on him) when Akaya insisted not. But he went anyways and Akaya was glad to have company.

"Alright, thanks a lot for walking me back home, senpai." Akaya said, as she stood in front of the house gate.

"No problem kiddo. I'll see you tomorrow. Go on, I'll go after I see you go in."

"Okay. Bye-bye~!" Akaya chirped and went inside. She gave a final wave before closing the front door, which Niou returned with a wave also.

"I'm home~~" She said out loud as she took off her shoes.

"Welcome home." Her mom came out of the kitchen and greeted. "I saw the boy walk by; he's the one with rattail right?"

"Yup."

"What a well-mannered boy, walking a girl home!" She cooed and commented, which Akaya had to think twice on "well-mannered" before nodding half-heartedly.

The next day, which was a Wednesday, the Rikkaidai team had a morning practice starting at 6:00. Akaya was not a morning person and thus she felt really cranky. But as she practiced she forgot the crankiness and starting the day with tennis made her morning better.

"Akaya." Yukimura called her.

"Yeah buchou?"

"We'll see you again at lunch, so don't go anywhere."

"Ulp. Okay."

So the school day passed without much ruckus, except lockers filled with stacks of love letters and desks covered in gifts she got from the fangirls/boys; she appreciated it and got annoyed by it at the same time, but she ate the sweets anyways. Then during lunch Yukimura and Yanagi came into her class again, followed by Niou and Jackal who tagged along to help their kouhai. She safely passed history class by sleeping during only one-third of the lecture, and she was proud of it.

She packed her bag as soon as the bell rang and dashed over to the locker rooms, changed in a speed of light, and stormed out to the tennis courts.

She then noticed people in non-Rikkaidai clothes rallying on the tennis courts.

'_Oh yeah, the high schoolers!' _She snapped her finger, and excited about the upcoming matches, ran over to Yukimura.

"Chi-su buchou!"

"Hi Akaya. You're playing some practice matches, so get warmed up."

"Okay!" Akaya beamed and hurried off to do some light jogging.

"Oi, Yukimura, what's a little girl like her doing on the courts?" One of the high schoolers asked Yukimura, who was watching the regulars warm up.

"Oh, she's our regular."

"Regular?" He cocked his head and asked in disbelief.

"Yes. Hinata-senpai, you have to keep quiet about this okay? She's our hidden card." Yukimura said and chuckled at his senpai's reaction. "And you will be playing her!"

A bit later, he and Akaya stood at the net; Akaya was looking up at the tall boy, while the tall boy was looking down at a tiny, rather innocent-looking girl. Akaya was staring at him amusingly with a big pair of green eyes and the boy did not believe that a girl could become a regular of _the _Rikkaidai boys' team.

"Let's have a good game…um… Kirihara." He held out his hand, and Akaya shook it.

"Okay!"

'_I'll go easy for the sweet little girl'_

About fifteen minutes later Hinata was on the ground huffing and puffing, severely shocked by the girl's competency and skill. The other high schoolers, about twenty more who watched the match couldn't believe their eyes.

"I told you not to underestimate her~" Yukimura said and chuckled as he ruffled Akaya's hair much to her dismay.

"Agh, senpai! Stop messing up my hair!" She said, but laughed playfully. Then she went for a jog around the school to get ready for the next match.

"W-what is she…!" The high schooler asked, still in shock, standing up and walking to a bench slowly.

"She won U-16 division in America three times in a row. Someone suggested us to look after her since she felt no fun in America." Yukimura explained. "She's doing the training that's six times more than our training. She's really ambitious."

Akaya faced about five more high schoolers later that day until she wore out. Yanagi was able to obtain good amount of data from Akaya, and from that he suggested that she start a reflex, listening, and vision training.

"Alright everyone, good work today. The regulars will leave with me to the Kanagawa college tennis center tomorrow after school. Leave as soon as the bell rings, you can change there. I'll leave Nobusa in charge of the training tomorrow." Yukimura announced as a closing statement.

Practice ended and Akaya got changed into her school uniforms and walked home with Yanagi, Marui, and Niou. She split with Niou and Marui mid-way, and walked with Yanagi.

"Senpai, I get reflex training and vision training but how do I do listening training?" Akaya asked the data master beside her.

"I'll have you cover your eyes and tell the ball's path by listening. From my data, you have good peripheral vision and you depend on that too much."

"Ohhh I see."

That night, she was just on her bed reading a comic book. Then she got a text message; when she looked at it, it was from Marui.

_Whatcha doin?_

Akaya could tell that he was bored.

_Reading a __comic __book._

_Nerd._

_I bet you're chewing gum or eating right now. Fatty._

_Well I'm slimmer than you._

_I think not._

And so the pointless text messaging began between the two, and Akaya ended up talking to Marui on the phone until late at night. He was sure a talkative senpai. But she was glad since Marui treated her like another boy kouhai that he could easily talk to. He was more of her sister than a senpai.

The next day, her day went as usual; she got one or two more love letters with presents, had study session with senpai as the class stared at them (totally not awkward), and slept through one-third of history class. As soon as the bell rang she said good-bye to her friends and rushed out to the front gate where the regulars were meeting.

They arrived at the tennis courts, and played practice matches like the day before; Akaya's skills were increasing tremendously day to day and the 3rd years were satisfied with the progress. Then Yukimura made the regulars gather around after they changed.

"Alright, we have the dates for the upcoming district tournaments. It'll be in about five weeks from next week, so let's give it our best."

They were excited for the upcoming match, especially Akaya, who was going to play the first match ever in Japan. They were walking back to the train station—then there was a sudden cry by Sanada.

"YUKIMURAA!" He rushed over to Yukimura downstairs, who was collapsed on a cold ground. He was unconscious and sweating bullets. The regulars freaked out, and Yanagi took out his cellphone in a flash and called the ambulance.

It was a disaster; regulars were all in shock as they waited for Yukimura at the hospital. They all called their parents to notify of the situation and told them that they'd be late.

"He's out!"

"Yukimura! Are you all right!" They rushed over to Yukimura, who was then in hospital clothes, staggering and dragging his feet towards his room. Without a word he stumbled into his room and closed the door.

"W-what's wrong…?" Akaya had a bad feeling and asked everyone; then the doctor came along and told them of Yukimura's conditions, how he had Guillain-Barre Syndrome and he won't be able to play tennis again. After the doctor left, the regulars were in such great shock that they couldn't speak.

"I'll… go talk to him." Sanada solemnly said, and quietly walked into Yukimura's room.

"How… just how…!" Akaya was repeating over and over, whispering to no one in particular. Yanagi put his hand on her shoulder to calm her down. After a few minutes, they could hear voices rising and the door clicked and Sanada stepped out. He merely shook his head and leaned against the wall. Then there came a painful cry… by none other than Yukimura on the other side of the door.

Akaya didn't know what to think as she walked home with Niou; the team agreed for Niou, the next closest to her house than Yanagi, to walk her home safely whenever Yanagi wasn't available. Yanagi and Sanada agreed to stay at the hospital and spend some time alone with Yukimura.

Niou and Akaya walked slowly home; by the time they left the hospital it was about 7 o'clock. Akaya just looked at her feet, and Niou walked with his hands in his pocket and stared at the moon.

"Senpai…"

"Hmm?"

"Yukimura-buchou can still play tennis right? He can come back before the Kantou Regionals, right?" Akaya asked, still looking at the ground. "The world's not fair...! Why him, of all the people...? Why him?"

"…" Niou couldn't reply. As much as he wanted to deny it himself the doctor told him that Yukimura won't be able to play tennis ever again. "I'm sure… he'll come back. 'Mura's that kind of a guy."


	7. Fruitful Result

Lucifer of Rikkaidai

Chapter 7: Fruitful Result

Akaya came home, depressed and worried about the team. Yukimura was the best captain (although was a tiny bit twisted and scary time to time) and she knew he was the greatest player she knew in her life so far.

'_Buchou's down with__ an__ illness… my role as the only kouhai is to work hard and fill his space!' _Akaya thought and got ready to sleep and wake up early to train in the morning.

"Akaya, what's wrong with the captain?" Her mother asked, as she opened the door to her room.

"He… he has this thing called Guillain-Barre Syndrome." She told her mom, who was "Apparently he can't play tennis ever again."

"Oh no…! That's… terrible…" She said and walked over to Akaya. "I'm sorry, honey."

"He'll come back, I'm sure. But …I'm going to work hard and fill his space." She said, with glint in her eyes. Her mom smiled and kissed Akaya on the cheeks. Akaya lied down, and her mom turned the lights off before leaving the room.

"Good night."

"Good night."

She closed the door to Akaya's room; then she walked downstairs and turned on the TV.

'…_It was a good choice to bring her here.' _She thought, and smiled.

In the morning, Akaya woke up at 5:30 and began jogging around the town; she was definitely _not_ a morning person, but her determination and tenacity drove her to train to fill Yukimura's space.

She came back home tired and walked to school dragging her feet.

"Akaya." Someone called her as she was walking half-asleep; she couldn't hear, and kept on walking.

"Akaya." The voice called again, which Akaya missed. Then the person tapped on her shoulder, and she lazily turned her head to see the tall, brown-haired data master next to her.

"Ah, morning senpa—huaaamm~" Akaya greeted, but ended up yawning in the middle.

"You seem tired. When did you sleep last night?"

"I went to bed at 10…" Akaya answered, her eyes droopy from sleepiness. Yanagi was puzzled.

"That's pretty early, why are you so sleepy?"

"I went jogging in the morning."

"…I see." Yanagi smiled, and patted her head.

She came to school early; she parted with Yanagi, and went to her class. She sat there, and then her friends came in.

"Akaya~~" Her friend called.

"Don't wake her, baka." Another coolly said.

"Just ten more minutes mom…" Akaya mumbled and rubbed her head few times on her arm.

"Su…shi… ra…men…" She talked in her sleep, and began moving her mouth as if there were food inside. Her friends snickered at the silly sight.

"Oh hey, I want to try something." One of her friends' eyes glinted. "AKAYA, SLEEPING IN CLASS! TARUNDORU!" He yelled, and Akaya shot up right away.

"S-S-SORRY FUKUBUCHOU! …Eh?" Akaya looked around, and found an empty classroom with her new friends. "W-Where's Sanada fukubuchou?"

"HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAAH!" They were grabbing onto their belly and laughing while pointing at Akaya.

"Masaki!" Akaya groaned, and sat back down.

"AHAHAHA, sorry, sorry. I couldn't resist. But why are you so tired? It's a Friday!" He beamed and slapped Akaya's back.

"I woke up in the morning to train…" Akaya mumbled, and put her head down again although facing her friends.

"Wow. Must be hard as a regular."

"I have to work harder…" Akaya said, thinking of Yukimura in the hospital.

The day passed like the usual; everyone was excited since it was Friday, but for the regulars it was just another day of practice after school. During lunch, only Niou came in to her class, much to her surprise. She expected that the tutoring won't be in session due to what happened yesterday.

"Niou-senpai?" Akaya stood up and greeted the rattail, baby-blue haired boy.

"Yo, Akaya." He waved his hand a little, and walked to her desk while girls were squealing and watching him. The news that the Rikkaidai tennis team regulars were helping Akaya prepare for the evaluative test was now spreading throughout the school and even first years and girls from other classes visited during lunch _just_ to see the regulars.

Akaya really didn't care but some of her classmates were worried about her safety regarding the fangirls. Surprisingly, Akaya's bright and outgoing personally gained quite the popularity throughout her peers. There were still some jealous girls in 3rd years who were ought to torture her and annoy her in some ways, but gladly she didn't encounter any problems… so far.

"Senpai, what happened to the other senpai-tachi?" Akaya asked, as Niou invited himself to sit on one of the chairs.

"That's my chair!" There was a squeal among the crowd, and Niou and Akaya looked at the direction; Akaya sweatdropped and thought, _so what if he sat on your chair..._, and Niou winked in the direction of the voice, and the whole class started squealing again.

"W-Was that necessary…?" Akaya, feeling very uncomfortable, sat down and faced Niou who did the same. He sat on the chair backwards, opened his legs, and leaned on the backrest.

"It's my way of keeping my fans in tact~" Niou slyly said and grinned.

'_O-Of course, Niou-senpai.'_

"Alright, let's get started." Niou said, and posed like Sanada. Akaya took her history and literature textbook out.

"Let's get started with literature."

So Akaya began her studies under Niou's guidance; both surprisingly and expectedly, he was smart. He must need his intellect in scheming.

Afterschool, Akaya headed straight to practice and began immediately; the regulars could tell that Akaya was working twice as hard that Yukimura was gone, and they were proud of it. She changed in the locker room after practice—then with Niou she went to her shoe cabinet, and when she opened it a pile of hate letters fell out along with wet shoes and thumbtacks.

"Eh…?" Akaya just stood there and blinked, processing what the situation meant.

"Oi, oi Akaya, this is bad!" Niou said, reading the hate letters. Akaya read them too; and there were some nasty things on the letters.

"What is this?" Akaya cocked her head sideways.

"A hate letter, duh." Niou stated, and threw the letters away after he shredded it. "I can't believe these fangirls are this immature." He groaned and put his palm on his forehead.

"Hate letter…"

"You're being bullied!" Niou had to ensure her.

"REALLY?!" Akaya was surprised and Niou just stared at her in there-are-hate-letters-what-part-of-bullying-do-you-not-understand look.

"What the hell? I haven't done anything!" Akaya yelled in disbelief.

"That's why they're called rabid fangirls."

"Che, like I care." Akaya scoffed again and left with her tennis shoes on. Niou just shrugged his shoulders and followed her out of the building.

"Should we tell Sanada and Yanagi about this?" Niou asked Akaya as he put his hands behind his head.

"Nope." Akaya firmly replied.

"You sure?"

"Yeah. It's my problem and I can handle it." Akaya scoffed. Niou smirked, and messed up her hair like he always did.

"Senpai~" Akaya groaned and put her hair back in place, and Niou just laughed.

"Handle on you own, huh… well, if it gets too out of hand we have to tell Sanada and Yanagi, okay?"

"Okay."

It finally became the evaluative test week; Akaya passed through all the subjects in a breeze, or at least she thought she did.

"How do you feel like you did?" Marui asked. Akaya, Niou, Marui, Yagyuu, and Jackal were on their way to the Kanagawa Hospital to visit Yukimura. He was in the hospital for about 2 weeks now; he was finally getting used to it and he could handle his condition a lot better.

"I dunno… I'm just glad I'm done." Akaya sighed. She still hated history.

The five regulars soon arrived at the hospital.

"BUCHOOOU!" Akaya ran over to him and gave him a hug. "I-I'm finally done with the test, buchou…!" She said, almost on the verge of tears. "Hopefully fuku-buchou won't get mad at me after the results come out…!"

"I'm sure you did fine, Akaya. You studied, didn't you?" Yukimura laughed and reassured her, patting her on the back.

"I did… man, I hope I didn't mess up."

"Hey, we're here too you know."

"Ahaha, sorry guys. How was the test for you all?"

"It was all good. But Yukimura, where's the love for us? You like Akaya too much." Marui said, pouting.

"Well maybe it's because he _does _like me more, senpai." Akaya said mischievously, sticking out her tongue at him.

"What! Yukimura, tell me the truth!" Marui yelled, glaring at Akaya.

"Well, it is true that Akaya is way cuter…" Yukimura trailed off, speaking much too innocently.

Marui collapsed onto a chair, truly hurt.

"I'm just kidding, I'm just kidding!" Yukimura laughed. "Of course I like both of you guys."

"Marui-senpai, stop being a sore loser."

"Why you little…!"

Yukimura's room was now filled with excited laughter and chatters.

* * *

><p>Akaya was now glaring at the test results, which were folded in thirds so that you'd have to open it up to look at the insides.<p>

Without opening the paper but still clenching it in her hands, she left the class and walked down the hallway.

"YO~ AKAYA~!" Niou and Marui yelled as they met up with Akaya in the much chaotic hallway.

"How did you do?" Marui asked, eyeing the paper in her hand.

"I-I didn't check yet…!"

"Then check!"

"S-S-S-Senpai…!" Akaya quivered. "I'm scared!" She was on the verge of tears. This very paper decided her fate, the fate in which she'd live to see another day or be slapped or assigned to run laps until her legs gave up… by none other than the demon fuku-buchou.

"It's okay, Akaya. You worked hard!"

"Errm… that's an overstatement." She said, thinking about all those times in history when she'd sleep through it. But it was the best time to take a nap; she couldn't help it.

"You're gonna have to check anyways, Akaya. Better get it over with." Marui said.

"You're right… okay. Here it goes." Akaya gulped. She closed her eyes and opened it up, pulling back from the paper to get far away from it.

"Akaya!" Marui yelled. "WOAH!"

"LOOK!" Niou yelled also.

Akaya opened one eye a bit and her eyes soon became wide after checking her results.

"EEHH?!" Akaya couldn't believe what was going on.

"Hehehe! You're smarter than I thought, Akaya!" Marui said and put an arm around her shoulder, ruffling her hair.

"Let's see… 100/100 math, 100/100 science, 88/100 social sciences, 87/100 literature… and 95/100 history!" Niou said with much excitement, having pride in being one of the tutors who taught her history and literature.

"WHAAAAAAAAAT!" She couldn't resist another yelp for some reason as she saw her score in history. This wasn't possible; she couldn't have done better in history than any other subjects. Yet she did.

"WHAAT?" She yelled out again, until Niou blocked her mouth in annoyance.

"Calm down, kiddo." He groaned, but laughed as he saw the joyous look on Akaya's face.

"What's all this commotion." A heavy voice said from behind the crowd; magically the crowd parted, and revealed Sanada and Yanagi walking towards Akaya, Niou, and Marui.

"SENPAI! I DID IT!" Akaya yelled, showing the two her paper. They took it and read closely; soon, Sanada's eyes widened and Yanagi cracked a smile—a huge grin, rather.

"Good job, Akaya." Yanagi said and smiled.

"Hm. You did well." Sanada said stoically as ever, but smiled in the end.

"Thanks senpai-tachi! I wouldn't have done it without all of you!" Akaya said, and gave her senpai-tachi a bear hug.

"OH! I HAVE TO TELL BUCHOU ABOUT THIS! Can we go tell him today pleeeaasse~~" Akaya pleaded, and Yanagi chuckled.

"Of course we can, Akaya."

"Yessss!" Akaya was so happy, flowers and floated around her wherever she went.

"I'm not getting slapped~~"


	8. Troubles

Lucifer of Rikkaidai

Chapter 8: Troubles

After school, Akaya wanted to visit Yukimura to show him the report card and show how trustworthy she was. Sanada and Yanagi were very satisfied with her performance; Sanada patted her on the head while Renji patted her back.

"BUCHOUUUUU!" Akaya yelled as she opened the door to Yukimura's room. Yukimura, of course, was startled by a sudden yell. Akaya dashed in, until someone grabbed her by the back collar.

"Akaya, you're being too loud." It was Sanada. Of course, it was _always_ Sanada or Yanagi. Maybe even Niou. She pouted a little and made an effort to get out of his grasp.

"Fukubuchou, let me go~" Akaya flailed around and Sanada let her go. Immediately after, Akaya ran to the boy on the bed and looked at him with sparkling eyes.

"Huhuhu, you seem excited, Akaya." Yukimura chuckled like his usual self and said. Akaya nodded vigorously.

"Yeah! So, guess how I did on my evaluative test!"

"Oh, yes, the test… hm… well, you're really excited so I guess you did well!"

"Yup!" Akaya proudly held the paper in front of him; he took it and as he read through, his eyes widened.

"A 95 in history! Good job, Akaya! And you did really well on the other subjects too!"

"Ehehe~ You know buchou, I was really scared that I might get slapped by fukubuchou." She whispered to him and he chuckled as he saw Sanada smiling and looking at the report card; it resembled a father being very happy with his daughter's performance.

"Huhuhu, you don't need to worry about that now. What really surprised me is your score in history! It's the second highest score!"

"Yeah! It's all thanks to senpai-tachi for helping me. Thank you!" Akaya said and Yukimura patted her on the head, grinning at the good news that brightened up his day.

"You're welcome, Akaya."

After they visited the hospital, Yanagi and Akaya walked back home together.

"Yanagi-senpai…?" Akaya carefully started.

"Yes?"

"…What's… going to happen to buchou…?" Akaya looked him in the eyes and asked. Yanagi stared at her as they walked; Akaya gulped in nervousness. Yanagi just put his hand over her head.

"They… did find a way to cure him." He spoke, and Akaya's face brightened. "But… the surgery success rate's very low. He's still deciding if he wants to do the surgery or not. And the rehabilitation process after is very difficult as well."

"Oh…" Akaya's face became gloomy again.

"Seiichi will come back for sure. Let us believe in him until the very end."

That day, Akaya couldn't focus at all, so she ended up visiting the street tennis courts again. Surprisingly, she saw Niou too;

"Niou-senpai!" Akaya called his name, and ran over to the bench he was sitting on.

"Oh~ Akaya." He casually waved at greeted the kouhai. "What are you doing here?"

"Just felt like playing something other than the wall." Akaya said, taking a look around the court, trying to find a worthy opponent. "What about you, senpai?"

"Just felt like clearing my head up a little." He said. "Now that you're here, I found a partner to play with; wanna go play?"

"Yup!" Akaya quickly took out her racquet and walked onto the court.

"Oi, oi, are you serious? Playing with a girl?" One of the opponents taunted.

"Kuku, she looks just like my 10-year-old sister." His partner joined in also.

"Heh, you'll see soon enough." Niou said, petting Akaya's head—then he lowered his head to look at her; she definitely did _not_ look happy.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY, YOU ASSHOLE!" Akaya yelled on top of her lungs and breathed heavily in anger; the opponents were surprised by a sudden outburst, and Niou tried to calm her down.

"I'LL GET YOU FOR SURE!" Akaya tried to hop over the net and go give them a piece or two of her mind until Niou stopped her by wrapping his hands around her and literally dragging her back to the baseline. "LEMME GO SENPAI!" Akaya flailed around.

"You… can… just beat them in tennis…!" he moaned as he pulled the hard-to-control teen towards the baseline.

"Che, those bastards can go die in a hole."Akaya mumbled under her breath while Niou patted her back to calm her down.

"We'll let you serve first, sweetheart." He said, tossing balls to Akaya at the baseline.

'_Who are you calling a SWEETHEART!"_She hit the ball straight down in anger and caught it. **"**I'll crush you."

The whole set ended in 20 minutes—the proud and almighty Rikkaidai regulars won everything on serves and returns. Akaya got her revenge by hitting them on the faces with her knuckle serve. When they were finished, they walked back home together, sensing no hope in finding a good opponent.

"Tsk. Those guys aren't worth anything." Akaya grumbled as she stomped back home. Niou just chuckled next to her and patted her head.

"I guess are worthy opponents were only within our regulars."

"Yeah. Those guys back there are nothing but talk!" She said, still stomping her feet. Actually, she was hoping to get a good game since she was troubled by Yukimura's conditions and all; but it turns out that she wouldn't be able to relieve her concerns and stress.

"Akaya, are you busy?" Niou asked her after observing her for a while.

"No, not really. Why?"

"Then let's go get something good to eat. We'll call Marui and Jackal too." He said, and took out his cellphone.

Before she realized, she was at an arcade with Niou, Marui, and Jackal. It_ was their favorite pastime activity whenever they were together_. Or they would eat.

"Hey a punching machine." Akaya stopped in front of a certain machine. Then she thought of the jerks that she ran into back at the street tennis courts.

"Niou-senpai. Hold my bag for me." Akaya's face became dark as she pulled up her sleeves. She went over and put some coins in. The machine started booting up, and started taunting her.

"I bet you can't even go past 50! Haha!" The machine said. Akaya's veins popped, ticked off by getting insulted by a mere machine.

"Oi, Akaya, don't get so worked up—"

BAM

Akaya punched the target with all her might and the regulars just looked at her with shocked eyes.

"Congratulations! New high score!"

"Hmph." Akaya scoffed and let out a sigh.

"What."

"N-Nothing."

"Hehehe, you're really something, kid." Niou snickered and ruffled her hair. "Hey, let's go eat some desserts, yeah?"

"Okay."

Niou had realized that Akaya was concerned about Yukimura for past few days, so he took her to her favorite desert café to make her feel better.

"I'm home~" Akaya hollered as she took her shoes off.

"Welcome home. It took you a while." Her mom said as she was working on the couch.

"Oh, yeah. I met Niou-senpai at the tennis courts, and we couldn't find anyone worthwhile so he took me and Marui and Jackal-senpai to an arcade and a desert shop!" Akaya said in a bright, happy tone.

"I see. It looks like you like your senpai-tachi a lot." Her mom laughed and said, and Akaya nodded.

"I do have the best senpai-tachi on Earth." She said, and hopped upstairs.

'_Huhuhu, it looks like he tried to make her feel better… Once again, I'm glad I brought her here. It looks like I'd have to meet this Niou-kun__. And the entire team, too.__'_She thought, as she smiled at the girl going upstairs.

The next day, which was a Saturday, they had a morning practice; on Saturdays they would only go jogging and not play tennis. They first met at the school gate at 9 in the morning, all dressed up to go on 10-mile jogging session.

"I'm ready." Akaya said, as she tied her shoelaces. She really didn't mind—there was that one time when she had to go jog 30 miles for that one intense camp back in America.

"Do you think you can take it, Akaya?" Yanagi asked, slightly concerned for the girl.

"Of course. I'm a Rikkaidai regular, after all." Akaya said confidently—and they began jogging around the district.

Akaya kept a good pace; she really didn't mind running faster, but she just jogged with the team's pace. They passed river banks, buildings, and small bays—when they were finished, it was around 12 o'clock noon.

"You kept a good pace, Akaya. We'll go faster next week." Sanada said, catching his breath.

"Yes sir!" Akaya grinned as she caught her breath; it felt good to be tired after a good jog around the town.

Sunday passed with a usual training regime—and the district tournament drew nearer and nearer.

Akaya was having a warm-up rally with Sanada before practice after school; then she noticed that there were surprisingly a lot of people from other school, trying to watch Akaya all the time.

"F-Fukubuchou!" Akaya hid behind Sanada's back in a scared voice as a crowd of guys tried to take a picture of her just outside the fence.

"It looks like you have been found." Sanada simply said.

"Yes, Genichirou. The probability that most schools in the district knowing that we have a 2nd year girl regular in a boys' team should be 80%." Yanagi said, as he walked over to her.

"So Akaya, our best choice right now is to not show your full potential while they're here, okay?" He whispered, and Akaya nodded.

**'**_T-This is scary as shit…'___Akaya thought as she glanced at the guys taking pictures whose eyes were like those of hungry beasts.

"Oh! I have an idea!" Akaya snapped her fingers and hopped over to Yanagi. "Senpai, senpai! Can I go spy another school since my cover's blown?" Akaya asked with sparkling eyes.

"You can." He agreed.

"YAY!"

"But only if someone goes with you."

"Ugh… fine."

"I'll go." Niou popped out of nowhere and said.

"Then go right now; be back by end of the practice. Niou, don't ditch!" Sanada said.

"Okay." The two, after changing into their school uniforms, walked towards the bus station. They got on the bus, and started heading towards Tokyo. During the bus ride, Akaya fell asleep on the bus. Niou felt something on his shoulder; when he looked, Akaya was sleeping and she ended up falling onto Niou's shoulder. Niou shifted a little to have her be in a comfortable position, and then sat until they got to their destination: Kakinoki middle school.

However Niou, for some reason, ended up falling asleep also. When he woke up, the bus was far past their destination. Niou shook Akaya to wake her up.

"Akaya, oi, Akaya!"

"H-Huh…?" Akaya rubbed her eyes and slowly woke up.

"We've got the wrong stop; come on, let's get off before we go on any further."

"Okay…"

The two lazily exited the bus; surprisingly, there was a school right in front of the bus stop.

"We might as well check here…" Niou said, while Akaya took out a cellphone.

"Yanagi senpai? Um, I think we're lost. We're at a school named Aoharu." Akaya read the sign at the school gate and said.

"Wha—hey, we're not lost." Niou quickly took her cellphone and held it to his ear. "Yanagi, we're—uh… oh, it's not Aoharu, it's Seishun. Our little kiddo got the readings a bit mixed up. Seishun? I thought Hyotei was better than them last year. Fine, fine. I'll see you." He hung up, and turned to Akaya. "He wants us to take a look at this school anyways; he said that there's a super rookie here too."

"Really!"

"Yeah. And there's a guy named Tezuka Kunimitsu too."

"TEZUKA?" She hollered, and Niou blocked his ears. "I WANNA PLAY HIM! LET'S GO, LET'S GO!" Akaya grabbed his hand and started running.


	9. Ain't no one xxxxs with Tiny Akaya

Lucifer of Rikkaidai

Chapter 9: Ain't No One xxxx with Tiny Akaya

Akaya ran inside the school grounds, grabbing onto Niou's hand. He just got dragged along with her; then after a while, they found the tennis courts. Akaya finally stopped and walked slowly.

"Hehehe… I found it!" Akaya laughed and spied the players. Then Niou noticed someone; a woman was taking pictures of the players practicing.

"Hm… Isn't that lady a bit too old for a middle schooler?" Niou asked Akaya, and she just nodded.

"Wait a minute!" Then the lady shot back at them, and stomped angrily towards them. "Who are you calling old? I'm only 26!" She started ranting, and the two teenagers stood awkwardly getting a wave of rant on their faces. Then her phone started ringing. "Hello? Hi Inoue-senpai. Yes. Yes. What?"

Akaya and Niou flinched a little.

"O-Okay! I'll be there!" She hung up, and quickly shoved the phone back into her pocket. "I won't forget this! I'll take a picture to remember you…" She held up her camera and took a picture of the two. The camera flashed and the two just stood, bummed out. The woman just ran away, leaving the baffled two behind.

"W-What a weird lady…" Akaya mumbled. They just ignored her, and walked closer to the regulars.

"They're pretty good." Akaya said. "But not as good as us!" Akaya grinned, and Niou ruffled her hair.

"Are you guys looking for something?" Someone's voice interrupted them. When they turned to look at the person, they found a boy with a very odd hairstyle. "You guys don't look like from this school."

"Darn! We've been found already!" Akaya grumbled.

"We're not invisible, Akaya. Anyways, we're from Rikkaidai tennis team. I'm Niou Masaharu." Niou introduced first; at the upbringing of "Rikkaidai" everyone hushed down and all the attention turned towards the two.

"I'm Rikkaidai second year ace, Kirihara Akaya!" Akaya cheerfully introduced, and everyone gasped and tensed up.

"Isn't she the only girl regular in Rikkaidai boys' team?"

"I heard she's on a national caliber!"

"She looks so tiny and cute though…"

"Dude, but Rikkaidai's the number one in the nation!"

There were mumbles all around the court.

"Senpai, senpai, who's Tezuka-san?" Akaya tugged on Niou's sleeves impatiently and asked. Niou looked around; and spotted the boy with hazel hair and glasses.

"That would be him." Niou pointed at him and told her. Akaya immediately ran up to him with sparkling eyes.

"Tezuka-san, right? The one that senpai-tachi talk about all the time! Aww yeah, I'm so lucky! Can you please play a match with me?" Akaya again with sparkling eyes, asked him.

'_S-So cute!'_All the guys in the court thought, looking at the girl who stared up at the stoic buchou like a little puppy.

"No outsiders are allowed on the courts." He merely pushed up his glasses and answered in a very stoic voice.

"Not even one game?" Akaya pouted and asked again.

"…" Tezuka looked down at the girl without much talk. Niou walked over to the two.

'_Why do I see fukubuchou in him.'_

"Tezuka, don't be so stiff. She just wants a game!" Niou put on his "trickster" face and said. "It should be hard for you to keep a straight face like that." He pointed at his eyebrows and imitated Tezuka.

"Hey! What do you think you are, insulting our buchou like that?" One of the non-regulars shouted; he tossed up a ball, and served it towards Niou's head. Niou smirked—

_Pong_

Akaya had already taken out her racket and completely cradled the serve before it got to Niou. All the people mumbled again at what Akaya did, for cradling a ball fast like that required a tremendous amount of skill and training.

"We just wanted a game, that's all." She frowned, and glared at him—her bubbly, playful expression was now gone and replaced by a serious, piercing glare. The boy gulped and backed away a step.

"If this is how you treat guests… I'll crush you." She hissed. People around froze, and Niou smirked a little. "Just kidding~~" Akaya brightened up again. "But I really wanted to play."

"A no is a no, Akaya." Niou said, and Akaya pouted, not listening to him. "Akaya~?"

"Fine, fine. I guess we have no choice." Akaya shook her head a little. "I'm sorry for intruding, Tezuka-san!" She bowed to the upperclassman. The two started heading out; then Akaya remembered something important.

"Hey you!" She shouted out at the boy who served a ball at Niou. "Here's your ball back!" She tossed it up, and served it backwards, and it was followed by yells, screams, and crashes and thumps.

"Uh-oh." Akaya and Niou slowly sneaked out; then they made a run for it. They ran around the building; and Akaya accidentally bumped into someone while turning the corner.

"Ouch!" She fell on the ground; then she spotted a little kid with dark green hair and a tennis bag.

"Ah, sorry…" He mumbled.

"No, I'm sorry, I wasn't the one watching." She stood up. "Are you in the tennis club?"

"Yeah. I'm running a little late, so later." He got up and ran again.

"Ah—hey, you! Here's the ball I took from your club!" Akaya threw the ball the boy; without looking back, he cradled it perfectly. The two looked at him in amusement.

"Oooohhh, Seigaku has some spiffy kids!" Akaya ooh'd and said. Niou just sighed and pulled her along.

"Come on, kid. We'd be in big trouble if Sanada finds out." He said.

"Oh… crap… Niou-senpai, this is a big secret between you and me, okay?" Akaya put her index finger to her lips and sad.

"Ahaha, okay." Niou chuckled. So the two left Seigaku and headed back to Rikkaidai.

"How was it?" Yanagi asked, as they entered the courts.

"Uh… good. But we're better." Niou said, looking at Akaya who nodded along.

"Yup!"

"I see. We need to spy Hyotei next time; I'll just send one of the non-regulars for that." He said, and walked away. The two sighed in relief, and snickered.

* * *

><p>Couple days passed and Akaya's life repeated normally. She would practice, and would find hate letters and all sorts of nasty prank in her shoe cabinet or locker.<p>

"That's it. I'm telling Yanagi and Sanada." Niou said, after Akaya stepped on a pushpin inside her shoes. Her foot started bleeding from it.

"No, it's fine."

"But Akay—"

"If you senpai-tachi try to protect me, they'll try to hurt me more and more." She convinced. Niou just listened, for Akaya's claim made sense. "I'm sure I could find who did it soon or later; I'll face them then. I have a lot of 2nd year friends, and I'm not that weak, senpai."

"Heh, I'm sure, kiddo." Niou ruffled her hair.

Akaya was chatting with her classmates during lunchtime; then a mob of third years came into the class, and surrounded Akaya. The class hushed down, and all the attention pinned down on Akaya.

"It's Nadesaka Saki!" Everyone in class started murmuring.

"Shut up, 2nd years. You." The girl with curly blonde hair came over to Akaya and pointed at her, looking down. Akaya was busily eating her melon cream bread she had bought after finishing her lunch; she looked up and answered with food still in her mouth.

"Whut."

"You, leave the team immediately." The girl narrowed her eyes and threatened. Akaya finally chewed, swallowed the food in her mouth, and spoke.

"Why?" She cocked her head. Akaya didn't understand just where she was getting this absurdity.

"You're flirting with the regulars. And, a girl like you doesn't deserve to be in the team, a regular even more so."

Akaya was definitely pissed off at her remark. "I'm not flirting. Flirting is something you rabid fangirls do anyways."

"Y-You…! Just leave the team!" The girl raised her voice.

"Nope."

"You'll regret it…!" The girl threatened menacingly, fighting her anger to burst out yelling.

"Ooh how scary." Akaya said boringly while taking another bite of her delicious melon cream bread.

"This isn't working. Grab her!" The blonde ordered the girls behind; they stormed over to Akaya, grabbed her by the arms and dragged her outside. Due to a sudden grasp Akaya ended up dropping her bread.

"MY BREAD!" Akaya screamed in horror, trying desperately to reach out for her fallen bread while being dragged away by a mob of girls.

"S-Someone go get the regulars!" Her friends yelled desperately and one of them dashed outside the class and headed for the 3rd years' classroom.

Sanada was just chatting with his classmates after finishing his lunch.

"Oh by the way Sanada, Nadesaka from class 3-C was saying something about arranging a picnic with your team." One of his classmates said.

Sanada cocked his eyebrows.

"This is my first time hearing such a—"

"Sanada-senpai!"

The class all shushed and everyone's attention pinned on a girl who came barging into their class, looking for Sanada. Sanada stood up, wondering why a second year was looking for him in such desperateness.

"A-Akaya's being dragged away by the Nadesaka-senpai and the other 3rd years!"

"What!?" Sanada rushed out of the classroom and headed downstairs.

"Oya, oya, what is this…!" Niou paled as he looked out the window and spotted the junior ace being dragged away by the 3rd years. Marui, who was standing next to him, panicked also. They hurriedly rushed downstairs to where she had been dragged away.

Akaya stumbled backwards as the girls let go of the grasp and pushed her onto the wall.

"It looks like you won't listen. And we all know what we do to naughty kids who don't listen; they get a good spanking."

'_Hehe.' _

* * *

><p>"Isn't that her!?" Marui yelled and pointed in the direction far away, deep into the corner of the school backyard.<p>

Akaya was grabbing the half-unconscious blonde by the hem of her shirt.

"Hey, you."

She glared down at the blonde. The blonde flinched; she was clearly frightened by Akaya.

"Try to mess with me again and you'll pay for it." Akaya glared down at her and snarled, flipping her off. Akaya let go of the blonde, pushing her away; the blonde collapsed miserably and looked up at her with fearful eyes.

"Ulp…!"

"AKAYA!" When all the regulars arrived at the scene, there was a pile of girls by the side, groaning and moaning, and Akaya, who was barely leaning on the wall.

"Y-Your face!" They all yelped in horror as they observed Akaya's brutally beaten up face. Not only was her face in ruins, but her knees and arms as well; she had scrapes and cuts on her knees and arms and blood kept on dripping down. She definitely looked more injured than any of the girls.

"Senpai-tachi...!"

Then soon they could hear the teachers running over from around the school building.

"Oh crap, there they are." Akaya grabbed onto Niou. "Senpai, carry me!"

"Huh?"

"Hurry! Carry me!"

Niou ended up carrying Akaya in his arms.

"What's going on here?! Bullying?!"

"S-Sensei…!" Akaya, who was now in Niou's arms, trying her best to catch her breath, coughed and looked at the teachers with pitiful, moist eyes.

"My god, Kirihara-kun! What happened!?" The teachers yelped in horror as they witnessed Akaya's bruised up, bloody face.

"I-I'm sorry, the senpai-tachi didn't mean do anything...! Please forgive them…!" Akaya buried her face into her hands and snuggled into Niou's chest, sobbing. "Please don't kick me off the team…! I want to try my best and claim our 3rd consecutive victory at nationals!"

"Wh-Wha…!" The 3rd years, who were now all standing up perfectly fine, all stared at Akaya in shock.

Niou, who saw through all this, tried hard in holding down his laughter. _'Ahhhh, you're too great, Akaya.'_

"Nadesaka Saki! And all of you! You're all coming to the office right now!" The principal who was among the teachers yelled angrily, grabbing the blonde by her ear and dragging her along.

"O-OW! Sensei, it's not what you think it is!"

"Be quiet!"

"Everyone, please come with us to the office."

"Y-Yes." Sanada followed the teachers with the regulars trailing behind him. Akaya kept on sobbing in Niou's arms and Sanada couldn't help but bad for her; it must have hurt a lot.

When they entered the school building and made their way to the office, everyone's eyes pinned on them and they were all mumbling.

"She got beaten up by Nadesaka and the 3rd years!"

"Oh my gosh, look at all that blood!"

"Uwaah, how dirty. Isn't this bullying?"

"I hope she's okay…!"

"Man, girls are scary."

"No, _jealous _girls are scary."

"It's not Akaya's fault though, she's just good at tennis!"

The teachers let Akaya sit on the couch and gave the regulars a first-aid kit to tend to her wounds.

Even when Akaya was getting treated, she hiccupped, trying to fight her tears. The 3rd years that picked on Akaya was now kneeling by the floor in a single file line, getting scolded by the teachers.

"What happened, Kirihara-kun?" One of the teachers asked in a soft voice, patting and rubbing her back.

"I-ulp—I just—ulp I don't know, they told me to leave the team… ulp… and they wanted to have a talk… and… hic… I told them I can't leave the team… ulp… sensei, I don't wanna leave the team..! Waah…!" Akaya broke into tears again, falling into the teacher's arms and sobbing. The teacher looked at her pitifully. Then she shot a glare at the 3rd years.

"Like I said, she's just acting right now!" Nadesaka yelled. "We got beaten up! She punched us in the stomach and kicked us!"

"Nadesaka! Just how long are you going to lie! Look at Kirihara's face!"

"You gotta believe us! She beat all of us up!"

"Were you guys there at the scene?" The teachers asked the regulars.

"N-No, we got there after everything… I'm not so sure what happened." Sanada answered, still confused. "Akaya was injured when we first saw her."

"I see."

"A-Akaya." Sanada fidgeted, not knowing how to console her. It was technically because of the regulars that she got into such trouble.

"I-It's okay. It's all my fault…" Akaya trailed off, wiping her tears with both of her hands.

"Just look at how sweet she is!" the teachers yelled. "How could you beat up such a sweet girl?! She's an important part of the Rikkaidai team!"

"Sanada-kun, we'll take care of everything from now. Please take her to the infirmary for a proper treatment."

"Yes, sensei." Sanada lifted up Akaya who was still hiccupping and exited the office, making their way to the infirmary with the regulars. The infirmary teacher wasn't there because it was still lunch break; Sanada just set her down on the bed and Yanagi came over with more first-aid kit. Akaya kept on hiccupping with her face buried into her hands.

"Oi, Akaya. No one's here, you can stop." Niou said.

"Oh good." Akaya suddenly stopped hiccupping and removed her hands from her face. The regulars, except Niou, all stared at her as if she grew another head. Then Niou burst out laughing.

"Oh. Hehe! Call me the second petenshi of the team!" Akaya said, holding up a peace-sign.

"So you were…"

"Just acting?"

"Yeah!"

"That was some great trick, Akaya. You're worthy of being my student." Niou held out a fist and Akaya fist-bumped him.

Silence filled the room.

"H-How?!"

"Well you know all these cuts? I purposely fell and stuff to look like I was more injured."

"What did you do to those 3rd years!?"

"I beat the—I mean, I just took measures of self-defense." Akaya said with much simplicity.

Everyone, except Niou, let out a long sigh of relief.

"Tarundoru!"

"Hey, it technically isn't my fault though. All is fine~" Akaya waved her hands and said nonchalantly.

"How did you manage to fight all of them? There were so many."

"Oh~ You know… they're kinda really weak. Haha."

'_So she wasn't joking when she said she beat up a rapist back in America…'_

"With that I'm sure no one will dare try to hurt you again." Marui snickered, and Akaya snickered along. So, with the little incident put behind, no one dared to touch Akaya for the remainder of the school year.

Ain't no one fucks with Tiny Akaya.

Ain't no one.

* * *

><p>Another week passed by—<p>

"Akaya, let's start your hearing training." Yanagi called her, and Akaya stood on the court blindfolded.

"You have to guess where I hit the ball." Sanada stood on the other side, and hit the ball to her; she easily got it right, and started gaining progress. Then she backed up and grabbed her racquet; she began to rally blindfolded.

Sanada was harsh on her; he played with her just as if he was playing a one of the regulars. Akaya got hit on all parts of the body. She got a bruise on her face, on her arms, and on her legs.

"Sanada, go a little easy…" Jackal worried about her and spoke.

"No! I can do it! I don't want you going easy on me!" She shouted, and got in a ready position. Sanada and Yanagi smiled at the effort, and Sanada tossed up the ball to serve again. All the people around glanced at Akaya in worry as she got hit by a ball again.

The practice continued for an hour straight; when Akaya was done, she slumped on the bench with a towel draped over her head.

"Akaya, let me see your wounds." Jackal hurriedly rushed over to Akaya with a first-aid kit. He treated her bruises and cuts and Akaya just sat there.

"Jeesh… take it a little easy!" Marui scolded her lightly.

"Hehehe." Akaya just grinned. "OWW! Jackal-senpai that hurt!"

"Sorry."

"Well anyways, practice is over for today; Yanagi and I are going to visit Yukimura. You know what that means, Niou." Sanada swung his bag over his shoulder and got ready to leave.

"Yes sir~" He saluted. The regulars started heading out of the courts. "Let's go, Akaya."

"Yeah." Akaya stood up, and walked.

"Even though you're having a hard time, you sure are improving." Niou said, walking next to her.

"…" There was no reply.

"Akaya?" Niou bent over in front of her to look at her; her eyes were closing, and she staggered. Then she finally lost her footing and fell forward, and Niou was able to catch her.

"Oi, oi… this is bad…" Niou sighed.


	10. Akaya and Her Babysitters

Lucifer of Rikkaidai

Chapter 10: Akaya and her Babysitters

"Oi, oi, this is bad…" Niou was troubled as the girl plopped into his arms. He piggybacked her and carried her things to her house. He rang the doorbell; a woman with straight hair unlike Akaya came out and greeted him.

"Akaya!" Her mother frantically yelled.

"She fainted on the way home. She's been training hard lately." He said, handing her Akaya's bags. "Where's her room? I'll take her there."

"Come this way." She led him upstairs into Akaya's room; Niou put her on the bed gently, and straightened his back.

"Thank you so much."

"No problem."

"You are… Niou Masaharu-kun, correct?" She smiled.

"Yes ma'am."

"I've heard interesting things about you from Akaya." She smiled and said, putting her hand out. "I'm Kirihara Sachiko. Nice to meet you."

"I'm Niou Masaharu; it's my pleasure." He shook her hand and bowed courteously.

"Would you like to have some tea?"

"I would love to, but my mother expects me home for dinner so…"

"Ah, I see. Then shall we go? I'll see you out."

Niou took a last peak at the girl in a worry before heading out, which Sachiko did not fail to notice. She liked the boy since he reminded her of Azuya, who had the same rattail as him.

"Then, good night, Mrs. Kirihara." He bowed and left.

"Good night." She smiled, and closed the door. _'Huhuhu, she does have a great team.'_

Akaya opened her eyes and it was still a bit dark outside. When she checked the clock, it was about 6 o'clock. She pulled herself out of the bed, and it stung everywhere so badly. She got changed and went jogging nonetheless; Sanada mentioned that stamina is just as important as skill in tennis.

When she came in the house, her mom frantically yelled her name and dashed over to her.

"Akaya! Where were you?"

"I went jogging."

"Young lady, you _fainted_ yesterday! You should be in bed!"

"Nah, it's fine. I got a good night's rest, no worries." She grinned, and her mom sighed at her stubbornness.

"Well, come eat breakfast after you take a shower."

"Yes ma'am!"

Akaya took a shower; even when she was soaked in hot water, it was painful. She looked at herself in the mirror; there were at least five bruises on each arm, three on her body, and more that she couldn't quite count on her legs.

She came down and grabbed some breakfast.

"Akaya, when you meet Masaharu-kun, do thank him since he brought you all the way home." Sachiko said as she put the fruits on the table.

"He brought me home?"

"Yes. He piggybacked you and carried your bag. What a nice guy."

"Oh… now that I remember, he was the last person I talked to before going to sleep."

"Exactly. Sheesh, dad would freak out if he finds out that you come back home unconscious and in bandages."

"Hehe. By the way, when's dad going to come back?"

"He's in England right now; he'll come back in about two weeks or so."

"Alright."

"Anyways, I'll have to thank Masaharu-kun and Renji-kun. Actually, why don't you invite your teammates over? I'll prepare some hotpot for you all. And I want to see this Genichirou-kun as well; Mrs. Yanagi next door always praises him so much and it sounds like he's taking care of you a lot."

"Yeah he definitely does." Akaya said. "When are you thinking?"

"How about this Friday dinner?"

"Okay~ I'll ask the senpai-tachi. Oh and by the way mom?"

"Yes?"

"We eat a lot. And I mean, _a lot._"

* * *

><p>"The district tournament date and place has been decided." Sanada announced and everyone smiled confidently. They were gathered by the tennis courts before the practice began "It's starting next week Thursday. Everyone, you know our rule—to never lose, and to aim for the 3rd consecutive victory in nationals." Everyone nodded.<p>

"We will go at our usual pace. From now on, we will not accept losing against other schools, no matter how superficial it is." Yanagi spoke, and everyone of course nodded. "Alright then. Go and practice." With that everyone split up to practice.

"Akaya." Sanada called her before she left.

"Yes fuku-buchou?"

"For the district tournaments this week—I want you to play singles most of the time." Sanada spoke.

"Really?!" She exclaimed in happiness. She thought she'd be the reserve (if Yukimura was there) or play doubles the entire time, but they were actually giving her a singles spot. "You're putting me in singles!?"

"Yes." Sanada nodded. "I'll put you in doubles once in a while to have Yanagi test some things out, but you'll be playing singles most of the time. But if you lose in the district match…"

"Shame's on you." Yanagi concluded.

"Alright! I'll do my best!" She exclaimed and clenched her fists.

"Now, go practice." Sanada strictly said. "I want you to improve as much as you can before the match starts."

Akaya put on a big, big grin. She ran up to Sanada and Yanagi and gave them a bear hug.

"I love you senpai-tachi! Hehehe!"She said and ran off very happily. Sanada and Yanagi had a faint smile on their lips from the cute kouhai's action. The club members saw this; they sort of thanked Akaya. Ever since she came, Sanada's been less rigid and harsh with them.

"She really is hard-working, Genichirou." Yanagi said.

"Aah."

"According to Niou, she fainted from fatigue yesterday."

"…hnn." He replied, but he had a slightly concerned look which the data master did not fail to notice. He watched Akaya run a lap with Niou and Marui; then she tripped and fell. Sanada flinched, taking a step forward from worry, but was relieved as Akaya laughed, scratched her head smugly while Marui and Niou scolded her, and stood up to run again.

"She's quite the handful…" Sanada mumbled and sighed and Yanagi just chuckled. Sanada has become her second father lately.

After practice the regulars all got feedback on what they needed to work on by the Data Master Yanagi and Sanada called it a day afterwards.

"Ah, I almost forgot." Akaya said, earning everyone's attention. "My mom wanted to invite you all over for a hotpot dinner on Friday after we visit buchou. Can you all make it?"

"Hotpot…" Marui first drooled. "I'm down!"

"I'll go." Niou said.

"Hm. Akaya's mother invited us all; it'd be a shame to refuse." Sanada said. "Very well, we shall go after visiting Yukimura."

* * *

><p>"Thank you for having us!" The regulars all bowed and said with their loud voices after Akaya's mother opened the door.<p>

"My, what an energetic bunch! Come in!" She greeted happily and they all walked in after taking their shoes off.

"You guys must be hungry! Hurry, the food's ready."

"Thank you very much!"

They all sat down around a large dining table in the kitchen.

"Let's see… I've already met Renji-kun and Masaharu-kun."

"I'm Marui Bunta! Nice to meet you." Marui said cheerfully and bowed.

"So _you're _the one that makes really good cake!" Sachiko said with much enthusiasm. "I have to say I'm very impressed."

"Ahaha, thank you!"

"Oh, I'm Kuwahara Jackal. Nice to meet you Mrs. Kirihara."

"Jackal-kun? What an interesting name!"

"I'm half Brazilian."

"Wow, that's awesome!"

"I'm Yagyuu Hiroshi. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you as well. Akaya praises you all the time about how much of a gentleman you are." Sachiko giggled.

And last it came to Sanada.

"My name is Sanada Genichirou. Thank you for inviting us over, Mrs. Kirihara." He said very courteously.

"So you are Genichirou-kun! My, Akaya sure talks a lot about you!" Sachiko beamed. It seemed that Sachiko has taken quite a liking into the Rikkaidai regulars.

After the introduction they all had a delicious hotpot dinner Akaya's mother prepared for them.

"Man that was so good…" Marui said, patting his belly in delight.

"Mrs. Kirihara, your cooking is very good." Sanada said and Sachiko laughed, happy to be complimented.

"Come again and I'll make you guys more food! I trust you guys a lot for always looking out for Akaya. She can get very rowdy and wild sometimes, but she's a sweet girl."

"What do you mean, rowdy. I'm always well-behaved." Akaya scoffed.

After cleaning up the dinner table they all sat around in the living room and chatted while eating some desserts.

"Akaya, I just got a call from work and I need to cover a night shift. I'll be back at about 4 o'clock in the morning so go ahead and sleep first." Sachiko said while hurriedly grabbing her keys.

"Okay~ bye mom!"

"You guys enjoy yourselves! Ah, Renji-kun, remind Akaya to switch off the lights before going to sleep!"

"Yes Mrs. Kirihara."

"Thank you for inviting us! Have a safe trip!" The regulars all said.

They all said farewell to Akaya's mother and sat back down on the couches.

"Let's watch a movie!" Marui exclaimed after noticing a shelf full of movie DVDs. He walked over to the shelf and pulled one out.

"A horror movie is the best for teammates to bond~"

"H-Horror…?" Akaya gulped although keeping a straight face. She was not the best with ghosts and monsters. She could deal with monsters in games but she definitely couldn't handle horror films.

"Hm. If it can really strengthen the bond as a team, I suppose it wouldn't hurt." Sanada agreed.

"I'm okay with it." Jackal said and Niou nodded along.

"I certainly don't mind." Yagyuu answered.

"I can collect some good data from you guys' reactions." Yanagi nodded along.

Akaya gulped once again. Now she _really _didn't have a choice.

"Alright which one… oh hey, it's this one! I heard this one was good." Marui pulled out a certain DVD. "You guys haven't seen this one right?"

"Nope."

"I-I'll go get some snacks and drinks." Akaya left to the kitchen as an excuse to run away. She grabbed some chips, cookies, and candies and took out a box of can of sodas. Even though she took out everything she just stalled time in the kitchen.

"Do you need any help?" Gentleman Yagyuu and mother hen Jackal came over to help Akaya carry things back to the living room. Now she couldn't even stall time in the kitchen.

The three of them walked back with snacks, set it down on the table, and sat back on the couches. Akaya creaked over to her spot and froze up as Marui pressed the play button.

'_I can't believe they're making me do this…!' _Akaya wanted to cry inside. She glanced around the room; Yanagi, Marui and Sanada to her left and right, Yagyuu, Jackal, and Niou on the other couch. They all looked pretty relaxed unlike Akaya who was barely managing.

The lights were all turned off except the ones coming off of the TV screen and it made the room even creepier. Akaya glanced to her right and found Sanada watching with the usual stern face and glanced to her left and found Yanagi quite indulged in the movie.

"…I love you." The blonde actor in the movie said to the beautiful actress and they soon started taking things to the next level.

They were all into it, but then thing gradually got more explicit. The couple's breath and noises from them kissing rang out in the living room and Sanada cleared his throat a bit.

The screen blurred out and started getting more explicit as the actor started taking off the girl's shirt and her bra, revealing a nude body. They were definitely going way past third base.

"WH-WHOAA!"

"COVER HER EYES!" They frantically yelled as Marui jumped in front of the TV, covering it with his body while Jackal waved his hands up and down in front of her in hope to blur out the monitor.

Meanwhile, Sanada had quickly covered her eyes before the woman took off her bra while Yanagi blocked her ears. Perverted noises and moans rang out in the room.

"W-Wha! I wanna see!" Akaya tried to struggle free. She was curious.

"Absolutely not!" Sanada blurted out.

"Whoo~" Marui soon forgot about his role as a screen blocker and whistled as he munched on his popcorn.

"MARUI! SKIP THIS SCENE RIGHT NOW!" Sanada yelled, tightening his grip around Akaya's head.

"Oi, Marui, move a bit, I'm trying to see too." Niou complained, trying to get a good view of the screen.

"Don't let Akaya see this!" Jackal yelled in panic.

"Kirihara-kun I am now speaking in order to cover up the moaning noises the couple is making right now although Yanagi-kun is covering your ears but I'm just making sure since covering your ears doesn't fully block the noises what I am telling you now is completely pointless because again I'm just trying my best to cover up the noises so that you can stay as the sweet innocent junior of the team I will keep on speaking until this scene passes by" Yagyuu rambled on and on.

"You're doing great, Yagyuu!" Sanada exclaimed.

"I wanna see, what's happening?" Akaya said way too innocently for the two protectors-of-innocence to remove their hands.

"T-This is something you must learn from y-your mother, Akaya!" Sanada stuttered.

"Hm. The probability of Akaya asking her mother while re-playing this scene tomorrow is 92%." Yanagi said, breaking a sweat. "That's certainly not good."

"I can't hear you senpaaai!"

Crazy, frantic, and rather embarrassing minute passed and the scene changed to the same eerie, creepy setting it had been before.

"Jeesh, I wanted to see too, what was it, fuku-buchou?"

"…Ask your mother later." He replied, patting her on the head and looking away.

Then soon Akaya forgot about her curiosity as the movie got tenser. An unknown presence was lingering somewhere in the dark and Akaya's body grew tenser.

"Nnngh…!" She whimpered and unknowingly grabbed onto the closest object, which was Sanada's arm, and tightened her grip.

"WAAGH!"

"AAAH!"

"HOLY SHIT!"

Finally the ghost popped out, scaring everyone except for Niou. They all flinched as a group, except for Niou. Even Sanada flinched although he didn't make any noise.

Akaya desperately rolled up into a ball and buried her face and every possible part of herself into Sanada, fighting her tears from escaping her eyes. The movie continued with the jump scares until the very end and made everyone restless.

The ending credits rolled and Marui turned on the lights, brightening the atmosphere in the room.

Their eyes all pinned on Sanada and Akaya, where Akaya was holding onto Sanada like he was the last strand of hope remaining before the doom. Jackal took out his cellphone to take a picture of the much adorable scene.

"Akaya, the movie's over." Sanada said, bending down a bit to see her face. She peed up and looked around nervously.

"Boo!"

"AAAAAGHHH!" Marui scared her from behind and without much fight Akaya jumped right back into Sanada's arms, flailing and wailing.

"Marui! Tarundoru!"

"Hehehe. It's so fun to scare people after a horror movie though."

"F-F-F-Fuku-buchou…!" Akaya looked up, her eyes moist and about to let out tears.

"It's okay, Akaya. The movie's over." Sanada patted her head and said reassuringly.

"Marui-senpai! You scared me!" Akaya then jumped out of the couch, swinging her fists around and charging at Marui who quickly dodged.

"That was some interesting data I was able to collect." Yanagi said.

"I-I am never watching horror movies again."

After cleaning up the regulars all got ready to leave.

"Akaya, make sure you get plenty of sleep for training tomorrow." Yanagi said as he stepped outside. "And make sure to turn off your lights."

"Okay. Thanks for coming over senpai-tachi."

"Bye Akaya."

"Make sure to lock your door too."

Akaya closed the door and locked it; she turned off the lights to the living room and went upstairs to her room. She got ready to go to sleep and lied down on the bed.

'_But what if scary things are in the room…!' _She couldn't shake off the thought. She was startled when her cell phone rang. It was from Niou.

"He-Hello…?"

"_Can you sleep?"_

"U-Um, I don't know."

"_I knew it. You're scared to sleep, right? I knew it the moment you clung onto Sanada like a sloth."_

"I-I couldn't help it! It was scary as shit!"

Niou's low chuckle rang out from the other side.

"_I'll keep talking to you on the phone until you go to sleep. It'll make things less scary right?" _

"I-I guess, but you should sleep too senpai."

"_I usually sleep way later, don't worry about it. Are your lights off?"_

"N-No…"

"_Then turn it off and go to sleep." _

"Okay." Akaya turned off the lights on the side and lied down, then put him on the speaker phone.

Meanwhile, at Yanagi's residence—

Yanagi dialed Akaya's number and was greeted by an automated voice message without it even ringing. He then began calculating possibilities and called Niou's number. He also didn't pick up.

'_Hou… so that's how it is.'_

"Hey senpai, what was that thing you guys made a fuss about before the scary things started popping up? Why do you guys want me to ask mom?" Akaya asked.

"_O-Oh. That's because… well your mom should probably know the best about it. We don't know much and can't explain too well." _He tried to explain without stuttering too much.

"Huh. My mom does?"

"_A-Anyway! Just listen to me talk and try to sleep." _

"Alright."

Niou talked about school and his new tricks that he was coming up with. Akaya listened but being a heavy sleeper, fell asleep within just a few minutes.

"…_And I think I'll try it first on this one guy from the guy from the soccer club, you know the one that annoyed you…" _

"…"

"_Akaya are you sleeping?" _He whispered. Hearing no answer he smiled and sighed in relief. _"Good night, Akaya. Have a sweet dream." _

Niou hung up. He paused a moment and thought of what he had just said. His cheeks then grew pink.

'_Th-That's something you wouldn't say to someone normally. Good thing she was asleep.'_


	11. As a Second Year Ace

Lucifer of Rikkaidai

Chapter 11: As a Second Year Ace

After the practice, Yanagi and Akaya walked home together. Akaya happily chirped, about school, about the team, and about the team as they walked.

"So in the end, Marui-senpai ate all my hi-chews! I only ate two!"

"Hahaha. When it comes to Marui and sweets, you can't stop him." Yanagi chuckled and said. "By the way, Akaya."

"Yeah?"

"I think you should reduce the training menu by half; you're going to pass out again at this pace."

"Actually, I don't think it's that hard."

"…Really?" Yanagi's eyes glistened in interest. "From my data, you were supposed to stop from exhaustion after training a menu of four times the regulars."

"Huh. 'Cuz I'm getting used to it pretty well. I don't feel that deadly tired when I finish." She said.

"That's good. We'll see what happens after a bit, and decide whether or not we should make it harder."

"Okay!" Akaya grinned. Yanagi ruffled her hair in response.

Days flew by and the regulars' practice was harsher and more intense than ever. Akaya kept doing her training menu; she woke up in the morning every day to jog 3 miles and went to the morning practice.

"Akaya-chan~!" The fan club girls (and guys) called her one time during the break. They swarmed into her class and surrounded her, handing her gifts and letters.

"Huh?"

"Good luck on your first match this week!" They said and squealed.

After school, Akaya had changed into her uniform and walked out of the girls' locker room to the tennis courts. Then a random boy stopped her.

"H-Hi, Kirihara!"

"Hi…?"

"I've liked you ever since I saw you… C-Could you go out with me?" He bowed and forced a bouquet of roses into her arms. Akaya was dumbfounded and bewildered as heck. She's only been there for 2 months and someone had already asked her out.

"Uh…" Akaya stared back and forth at the flowers in her hands and the boy.

"Not so fast!" There came a voice behind Akaya; she turned around and found Marui and Niou with sly glares.

"No~ no~ no~ this is not permitted." Marui waved his fingers and said.

"That's right. We can't have our second year ace be distracted by some trivial matters."

"Unless you want to have some nice talk with the Big Three… I'm sure Sanada's going to be pissed off about this!"

"Hieee! S-Sorry!" He gasped and ran away in blink of an eye.

"…Senpai-tachi!" Akaya yelled.

"What?"

"Don't scare people! I was going to reject anyways!"

"Well we need to let at least one person know our intentions so they'll never bother you, right?" Marui explained.

"But—"

"And what we said was true, in fact. The Big Three won't be happy about this, especially Sanada since you'll be distracted by a guy and stuff."

"Yup, yup. If you don't want to hear Sanada's 'TARUNDORUU!' again, then it's better off for us to scare people away." Marui said, and snickered a little.

"…Senpai, I think you're just enjoying this."

"No we're not." They said simultaneously, but had their signature grin. Akaya just stood there, staring at the two upperclassmen. So they _did_ enjoy it. The three walked to the tennis courts; Akaya still had the bouquet of roses in her hands.

"I don't even like roses…" Akaya rubbed her nose after smelling the flowers. They snickered.

"Akaya…?" Some dark figure towered over the three from behind. Akaya slowly turned around and saw Sanada giving her the most deadly glares ever.

"C-Chi—su, fukubuchou!" Akaya squeaked and hid behind Niou.

"What is the meaning of this?" Sanada's voice rose as he was eyeing the bouquet in her hands.

"97% chance she got asked out by a boy." Yanagi also walked over to them and recited his data.

"Yup. Akaya got asked out." Marui said and snickered again.

"AKAYAAAAAA" Sanada towered over Niou and Akaya.

"Don't worry, don't worry~ we scared him away!" Niou put his hands up and explained.

"Yeah, we told him that Akaya shouldn't be dealing with superficial things, or else he has to face the Big Three's rage!" Marui added.

"Hou…" Sanada raised his eyebrows and the three grinned nervously.

"Hmph. Good work, Marui and Niou." He smiled (more like a smirk), and went to practice. Who knew there'd be a day where Sanada would praise Marui and Niou?

"Kukuku, he seriously _is_ like Akaya's dad."

"I know, he's seriously like an old man!" They snickered.

"Marui! Niou! GIVE ME 20 LAPS!"

"Dammit…" They grumbled and started running.

"…" Akaya just stood there, not knowing what to do with the flowers.

"Akaya, you should get to practice too. The match is tomorrow." Yanagi said.

"Yeah."

"What are you going to do with the flower?"

"Good question. I don't know."

"Then may I have it?"

"Huh? Sure but why?"

"I want to experiment something." His closed, scheme-filled eyes seemed to glisten; Akaya gulped and handed him the bouquet.

"W-What experiment is it…?" She asked carefully.

"…Don't worry about it." He smiled mysteriously and walked away.

'_This is bad! I better not irritate Yanagi-senpai…!'_ Akaya gulped in fear.

The regulars practiced with their utmost effort as usual. When it was over, Sanada and Yanagi called in the regulars.

"As you all know, we have the district preliminary tournament tomorrow. We will meet in front of the school gate at 10 o'clock exactly. You have the excuse from all your classes." Niou, Marui, and Akaya grinned widely at that. "You do not have to come to school until then." Everyone nodded.

"Everyone, get to sleep early and show up at your top conditions." Yanagi added.

After practice, Yanagi and Akaya walked home together as usual.

"Akaya, don't go jogging in the morning tomorrow." Yanagi said.

"Eh? Why?"

"We need you in top shape. You're going to be playing singles in most of the matches so don't squander your energy beforehand. So get plenty of sleep tonight and eat well for breakfast, preferably protein and carbohydrate-based."

"Yessir!" Akaya chirped.

"Are you that excited?" Yanagi smiled and asked.

"Yeah! I've been waiting for this for so long! I hope I come across some worthy opponents. I want to play Seigaku's Tezuka-san, Hyotei, and all those people that are strong!" She fisted the air and fumed through her nose. Yanagi chuckled and ruffled her hair; her spirit was cheerful and energizing.

"You will, Akaya."

Akaya stepped into the house, and immediately went to her mom who was preparing dinner.

"Mom, mom, mom, mom!" She shouted and ran into the kitchen.

"Someone's hyper!" Sachiko laughed and greeted her daughter.

"Yeah! So tomorrow's the day of the tournament at last!" Akaya beamed.

"Ooh, that sounds really fun. But honey, I have work tomorrow all day so I don't think I could see your matches."

"That's fine, as long as you come to watch nationals!"

"Nationals I will definitely go. But you have your mind set pretty out far."

"Of course, there is no loss for Rikkaidai! We'll win nationals the 3rd consecutive time."

"Huhuhu, that's very cool. So, when are you leaving tomorrow? Are you missing school?"

"Yeah. I have to be at the school gate by 10 o'clock. And don't worry about schoolwork, I'm doing perfectly fine." Akaya convinced her mother although she was still slacking off in some (more like half) of her classes.

"I'm going to be out from 9… you'll be fine, right?"

"Yes ma'am!"

"Alright then. Let's eat!" Her mom set up the table and said. The two ate dinner, and Akaya got ready to go to sleep early.

"Ah~ah, I wonder if I can even go to sleep…" Akaya lied down on the bed and mumbled. After shifting around a bit, she shot up and re-checked her contents of the bag to make sure she doesn't leave anything behind.

"1, 2, 3 rackets, check… strings, check. Extra grips, check. Towel, check. Sunblock, check. Wallet, check. Extra water bottles, check."

'_I absolutely can't let down my teammates… and especially buchou.'_


	12. Curtains Up

Lucifer of Rikkaidai

Chapter 12: Curtains Up

"OH MAIII GAAAADDD!" Akaya's yelp pierced the roof as she frantically grabbed the alarm clock, bringing it closer to her face. It was 9: 45, and she had to get to the school by 10. She stormed madly into the bathroom and got changed in less than a second.

"STUPID MARUI-SENPAI HAD TO CALL ME AT NIGHT!" Akaya grumbled and rushed downstairs with all her stuff. Her mom had prepared some toast for her before she left to work; she grabbed it, put it in her mouth, and ran outside.

"_Helloooo…?" Akaya rolled around and answered her phone lazily; some bastard woke her up during the middle of the night when she was actually trying to get a good night's sleep._

"Akaya, which one do you think I should bake? Strawberry shortcake or just mango mousse cake?" _Marui's ever-so-cheery voice came through the speaker, and Akaya groaned in response._

"_Wha…?" Akaya asked in a daze, since her half-asleep brain couldn't process what he has just said._

"I said, should I bake strawberry shortcake or mango mousse cake?" _Marui recited over again._

"…_." Akaya opened her eyes and stared into the space in silence. "HUH?" Then she yelled._

"Come on, choose."

"_You called me at 1 o'clock just for THIS!" Akaya yelled into the speakers. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME! I WAS ACTUALLY GETTING A GOOD SLEEP AND YOU JUST HAD TO WAKE ME UP! TO ASK ME WHAT YOU SHOULD BAKE!" Akaya ranted._

"Hey, it's not _that_ late."_ Marui replied sassily._

"_TO YOU IT ISN'T! IT'S WAY PAST LA-LA LAND FOR ME SENPAI, AND I THINK YOU'RE OLD ENOUGH TO CHOOSE BETWEEN AN APPLE AND AN ORANGE BY YOURSELF! FLIP A COIN OR SOMETHING!"_

"But… but… it's really important."

_Akaya shot her arms in a w-t-f-I-give-up manner._

"_Mango mousse cake." Akaya said, and hung up without even listening to a reply. Then she shut her phone off._

It was then 9: 57; Akaya had to run a mile in less than three minutes: not possible. "Marui-senpai… I'll kill him for sure!" Akaya cursed and ran as she huffed and puffed.

"ACHOOO!" Marui sneezed. "Ugh…" He rubbed his nose.

"Where's Akaya? She's running a little late…" Jackal worried as he looked at his watch.

"Maybe she got caught in a bad accident?" Yagyuu wondered.

Sanada took out his phone, and dialed Akaya—almost _too_ silently.

"_H-HELLO!" _There was a frantic, out-of-breath voice from the other side.

"AKAYAA!" Sanada yelled on the phone, and all the regulars flinched.

"S_-SORRY FUKU-BUCHOU! I-I HAD TO, UH, HELP A WOMAN WHO WAS ABOUT TO GIVE BIRTH!" _Akaya quickly made up an excuse and blurt it out.

"Hou… really?" Sanada's eyebrows twitched badly.

"_Ulp. AAAHH OKAY, OKAY! I SLEPT IN BUT BLAME MARUI-SENPAI WHO WOKE ME UP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT YESTERDAY! I'LL MAKE IT IN A MINUTE I SWEAR! BYE!" _Then she hung up.

"Marui…" Sanada put the phone back into his pocket, and called the boy who began to quiver in fear. He squeaked, and hid behind Jackal who started sweating very nervously.

"C-Chill, Sanada! She's coming!"

"Marui… don't you ever call her during the middle of the night again." Sanada warned him menacingly.

"O-Of course!" Marui squeaked again and nodded vigorously.

"FUKU-BUCHOU~!" There was a distant yell of a certain second year ace; a figure literally hovered over to the school gates in less than five seconds.

"I'M SORRY I'M LATE!" Akaya bowed down deeply and apologized.

"It's alright, Akaya." Yanagi smiled, looking at Sanada. "We're not that late anyways."

"TARUNDORU!"

"HEEEEKKK!" Akaya yelped and jumped behind Yanagi.

"Being late is not accepted!" Sanada scolded her.

"I know, I'm sorry!"

"If you know then that's fine." Sanada strictly said and lifted his bag. All the regulars were dressed in the Rikkaidai uniforms; the group, all covered in yellow, white, and tints of red, looked very overwhelming even from miles away.

They began to get in the bus; Akaya and Marui started bickering while getting on and Jackal had to step in between to stop them.

To stop their endless bickering, Akaya sat next to Yanagi throughout the bus ride. After about half an hour they stopped at a tennis park; many schools were gathering, and Akaya excitedly looked out the window.

"ALL I SEE ARE GUYS!" Akaya chirped happily and amusingly. "I SEE CHALLENGE!"

"Now Akaya, before we get off," Sanada caught her attention. "You must be careful of the other guys at all times, on and off the courts."

"…Why?" Akaya tilted her head to one side in confusion.

"…Just please do." Sanada sighed a little. "So try to stay with the regulars always unless it's really necessary to go off alone. We don't want trouble, and try not to pick fights even if they annoy you."

"Yessir!" Akaya grinned and said.

"Then, let's get off." Sanada first exited the bus; then the regulars came out one by one. As soon as the players in yellow jersey got off they earned stares and marvels from people around them; well of course, it was _the _number one team in the nation.

"Who's the cute girl? She looks pretty young."

"I didn't know they had managers wear uniforms…" People began talking and murmuring when Akaya tagged along the regulars towards the sign-up area.

"Ah, she must be dating one of them!" Someone said, and Akaya glared at the direction of the voice; they all hushed down.

"She's the rumored female regular of Rikkaidai!"

"What? No way, it's probably all just rumors. A number one school wouldn't have a _girl_, a second year at that, in their team!"

At this Akaya's top almost flew open.

"Ahaha, don't let it get to you, kiddo." Niou chuckled and said with his hands in his pocket.

"I'll try." Akaya grumbled and followed Sanada who started walking into the tennis park. As they walked there were some girly squeals shouting the players' names; Akaya was already annoyed that girls never took the sport so seriously, but the fact that they used it as an excuse to see the guys—made her want to bash someone's head in badly.

"Did you go through this last year too?" While blocking her ears in annoyance she asked Marui and Niou who were walking next to her.

"Kinda not really. We were only second years, but… we did have some… juicy responses!" Marui replied, smiling.

"This year's gotten a lot… livelier." Niou added.

"Heehh~ So Rikkaidai was pretty popular…"

"Of course."

"So have pride in yourself, you're the only female _and_ second year regular." Marui ruffled Akaya's hair and said.

"Ehehe." Akaya giggled. The regulars reached the sign-up table; there was a huge table of the ladders of the runner-ups on a huge poster paper; Rikkaidai, the number one seed, needed to pass three rounds to place number one in district preliminary, followed by two rounds for number one in the prefecture.

"Rikkaidai Fuzoku, seven players present." Sanada said, and handed the organizer the paper; he scanned through, and as he got to the very end his eyes opened wide. He shot up, looked at Akaya, looked back down at the paper, and looked at Akaya again.

"Ah, so you're the rumored female and the only second-year regular of Rikkaidai Fuzoku. Hah, this is the last thing I expected!" He exclaimed and signed off the paper. The regulars moved to their courts where the first match is held.

"Here're the line-ups." Sanada cleared his throat, and everyone gathered around in a circle while earning stares from other people who were busy admiring the number one of the nation.

"Singles three, Akaya. Singles two, Renji. Singles one, me. Doubles one will be Niou-Yagyuu pair, and doubles two will be Marui and Jackal. Any questions?" He asked; Akaya raised her hand.

"How do the match orders work?"

"First will be doubles two, one, then the singles three, two, and one. It's a best of five matches, so we will play until we get three wins out of five." He explained, and Akaya nodded.

Sanada stepped in, and the team naturally hurdled, supporting each other's arms and shoulders.

"Alright. Remember that we're here to win, and reach for our 3rd victory at the nationals. Losing is not accepted! Show no weaknesses!" Sanada hollered loudly. "Always win!"

"Rikkai!" Everyone yelled simultaneously. The team broke apart, and walked into the courts one by one; there was a small, timid chant from the opponents on the other side of the benches, and they walked in also. The teams stood against each other at the net; their eyes were all pinned on Akaya.

"Both teams, greet!" The referee hollered from top of the look-out chair.

"Thank you in advance!" The two teams bowed down and said; the captains stepped up and shook hands. The other captain looked pretty darn tensed up. Of course, Sanada with his looks and built would intimidate easily.

The two teams walked to their sides; doubles two was first. Honestly, Sanada and Jackal hasn't played doubles except for one match, yet they creamed the other pair 6-0. Yagyuu-Yanagi's match ended in less than twenty minutes since they played doubles couple times together.

"Akaya." Sanada said as Akaya put her water bottle on the coach bench.

"I know. I'll finish this in blink of an eye." Akaya smirked and walked to the net with her black and red racquet. The opponent was waiting there; he looked pretty relaxed, thinking of playing a girl. When they met there, the difference in height was a bit too unbelievable. He was at least three heads taller than Akaya.

"Let's have a good game." He said, and smiled. Or was it a smirk? Anyhow, Akaya didn't like his attitude.

"Sure." Akaya shook his hand. They spun the racquet, and Akaya decided to receive first. The boy tossed up the ball and served it; Akaya got to it in an instant, swung and returned the ball of twice the speed. The ball blasted a full, thunderous noise upon impact. It flew to the baseline with a whizz, and the boy couldn't reach it at all.

"Love-15!"

The boy had a slightly surprised look; his face turned a lot more serious, and he tossed up the ball again. He served it faster this time. Of course Akaya caught up to it and returned the ball again, making the boy unable to react to a high-speed ball.

"Huhuhu, Akaya's on fire~" Marui chuckled and blew his bubblegum. The regulars had already packed their stuff, ready to leave as soon as Akaya was done.

"How about I end this in fifteen minutes." Akaya smirked cockily, and pointed at the shocked boy with her racquet.

Exactly fourteen minutes and fifty seconds later, Akaya had won with a devastating score of 6-0 solely on textbook moves. Everyone who was watching the famous school Rikkaidai's match, and further on the rumored female second year ace all gaped at Akaya.

"Game and match, Kirihara!" The referee announced, seeming to be quite surprised as well.

The opponent quietly walked over to the net and shook her hand; he must have been pretty humiliated.

"With a score of 3-0, Rikkaidai fuzoku chuu will be moving onto the next round!"

Akaya walked back to the bench; she didn't even break a sweat thanks to all the rigorous training she went through for past month.

"Good start, Akaya." Yanagi greeted as he finished scribbling down some notes onto his notebook.

"That was boring." Akaya pouted. She could really go for a stronger opponent.

"Preliminaries are always like this, Akaya." Sanada said. "Wait for the prefecture and regionals."

"Okay!"

They all did their courtesy bows before moving on. Regulars left to the nearby court and finished their match in less than an hour, but had to wait before starting because their first match ended so fast.

The clock struck about 12:30, and there was an hour-long lunch break until the final round of the district preliminary. Akaya and Niou decided to go order food at a nearby shop.

They left the tennis park and walked to the shopping area downtown. While they were walking, Akaya earned a lot of attention from the people. Then they found a sandwich shop that had lines of people waiting inside.

"It's really crowded inside; I'll go order, you can wait here." Niou said, and walked into the shop, bumping into people time to time. Akaya just waited outside;

"Hey there, cutie pie." Someone said; Akaya didn't quite react to it until something towered over her. She looked up, and blinked; a guy stood there with his friends. She merely looked up and stared at him.

"Are you alone?" The other guy asked, smiling.

"No." Akaya tersely answered.

"Aw, come on, you look like you're alone. Are you here for the tennis tournament? How cute…"

"I told you, I'm with someone."

"Hou…" Then his eyes pinned on the embroidery on the jersey. "Ohoho, you're the rumored female second year ace of Rikkaidai boys' team!" He exclaimed.

"That's me!" Akaya grinned and said.

"Well then, I could escort you back to the tennis park."

"It's fine."

"Come on, don't be shy." He stepped closer. Akaya's veins popped and she was about to kick him in the nuts until—

"What do you think you're pulling?"


	13. Sleeping Lion

Lucifer of Rikkaidai

Chapter 13: Sleeping Lion

"What do you think you're pulling?" Niou came out of the shop and said, walking over to Akaya.

"None of your business. Get lost; we'll escort your cute girl back to the park." The guy's expression hardened immediately, and glared at Niou.

"No can do." Niou wrapped his arm around Akaya's shoulders, and pulled her close.

'_Eh?'_ Akaya blinked, and looked up at the taller boy. Her cheeks heated up a little.

"You see, I'll get in a big trouble if something was to happen to her, so…" Niou turned away from them, and started to walk away.

"Not so fast." Someone yanked his shoulders and pulled it around. Akaya was getting irritated—a lot, actually. She was hungry, and no one would ever want to bother hungry Akaya.

"Get lost. You're wasting my lunch time." She snarled; the guys just laughed at the girl's cheekiness.

Akaya kicked the asphalt ground they were standing on; with a crackle noise it made a cracked indent. The guys' eyes popped out at the sight, and they all gulped.

"Get. Lost. Before I crush you." At this the guys timorously shuffled out of the scene.

"Nice job, kiddo." Niou whistled. "Now let's go; we're late enough as it is."

They started walking back.

"Um, senpai?"

"Yeah?"

"Your arm." Akaya nervously glanced at the arm wrapping around her shoulders.

"Oh. My bad." Niou laughed a little and removed his arms. "See, this is what Sanada meant by "being careful of guys." You never know what you'll run into."

"Maaan, it's annoying."

They got back safely, and ate lunch together.

"6-0! Game and match, Kirihara Akaya!" The referee announced. It was the final round of the district preliminary, and Rikkaidai had won every single game in straight sets.

"Yay! We won!" Akaya put her hands up in the air and ran over to her team with a big grin. Marui put a headlock on her, and Niou ruffled her hair—as usual.

Now Akaya was famous in the tournament; people didn't believe in the rumor of Rikkaidai having a girl second year as a regular… now they do.

"I WANNA CALL YUKIMURA BUCHOU!" Akaya took out her cellphone to call Yukimura immediately. The regulars smiled and watched her;

"Hello? BUCHOUUUU!" Akaya yelled on the phone.

"_My, someone's excited!" _Yukimura's kind, gentle voice came through the phone. _"How was the tournament?"_

"It was a piece of cake!" Akaya chirped. "We beat everyone in straight games!"

"_That's my team." _He chuckled and said. _"Did you play singles?" _

"Yeah, I played singles the entire time." She said.

_"__I see. Can you l__et me talk to Sanada__?__" _

"Okay~"

Akaya handed it over to him.

"Hello…?" He answered. "…Hmm?" He glanced at her, and she was looking up at him like a little puppy and Sanada patted her on the head. "What more can I say; I'm amazed." He smiled.

"Amazed by what? What? What?" Akaya bounced around and asked.

"Yes. Yes. Alright. Bye-bye." Sanada hung up the phone, and gave it back to Akaya.

"Amazed by what fuku-buchou?" Akaya whined and kept on asking. Sanada blankly stared at Akaya.

"Amazed by your never-fading energy." He flicked her forehead gently and grabbed his bag to leave.

"Awww come on, tell me!"

"There are things you don't have to know, Akaya." Yanagi chuckled and ruffled her hair. It seems that everyone loves to ruffle her hair except Yagyuu, being the gentleman and all.

"Let's head back. We'll have a practice tomorrow and a break Saturday and Sunday." Sanada said. They all grabbed their bags, and started heading out of the park; while they were walking, people of course stared and marveled at them. Girls fawned and sighed, and guys mumbled, whispered, and whistled at Akaya much to her and Sanada's dismay.

When Akaya came home around 6 o'clock, her mom wasn't there; she had work that day. Akaya didn't mind; she could cook simple things, do homework, and take care of the house just fine.

When her mom finally came home later that evening, Akaya ran downstairs and greeted her.

"Welcome home~"

"Thanks honey. How was your tournament today?"

"It was awesome! I won all my matches in straight sets although it was too easy. Fuku-buchou and Yanagi-senpai let me play singles the whole time!"

"Singles? They let you play singles for the entire matches?"

"Yeah!" She nodded jubilantly.

"They must be really considerate… seems like they're expecting a lot from you." Sachiko smiled warmly and thought about two very insightful and caring teammates.

"Ehehehe."

The next day, her shoe cabinet was filled with numerous love letters that Akaya didn't—_couldn't_ bother with; she recalled the last time when Sanada saw love letters fall out of her shoe cabinet.

"_Akaya!" His thick, low voice rang out through the hall and Akaya flinched from surprise._

"_F-F-F-Fuku-buchou!" Akaya stuttered, and hid the letters behind her._

"_What__'s in your hands__." He narrowed his eyes and glanced at her arms hiding behind._

"_T-T-This! O-Oh, they're just… just… homework!"_

"_What homework. Let me check it for you then." He put his hands out and demanded; Akaya started sweating and her eyes wandered around._

"_Err, you see, it's actually a personal… letter of a sor—"_

"_Now." He quietly said._

"_Y-Yes fuku-buchou." Akaya squeaked and handed him the scrunched up pile. He opened them and his eyebrows stood upward and eyes narrowed every turn of the paper. Then he saw it—he saw a guy putting another love letter into her shoe cabinet. He walked over and put __crossed his arms, towering over the underclassman__._

"_You." He glared._

"_Y-Yes?" Sanada snatched the love letter and forcibly put it back into the boy's hands._

"_TARUNDORU!" He yelled his catchphras, and the boy flinched; what a poor boy. "SQUANDERING TIME ON IDLE THINGS SUCH AS DATING! A STUDENT MUST FOCUS EVERYTHING ON THE STUDIES!" He berated; the boy backed off, and ran away._

"_Fuku-buchou!" Akaya called him; he turned around, and sighed._

"_Akaya. You're the important successor of the team; understand that we can't let you be distracted by anything outside of the team." He said._

"_Okay…"_

Even though the news that Sanada scrammed a boy in love with Akaya spread through the school, the love-letter sending still did not seize. Akaya merely ignored it; she didn't have time to respond to every single one of it and she just had to thankfully accept the presents. And it's not like she had any interest in guys.

When she walked into the classroom, her desk was piled with more presents than ever. The dreaded break-time came; Akaya tried to sneak out before the rabid fangirls and fanboys could get to her—

"AKAYA-CHAAAN~!" Girls and even guys _squealed_ and stormed over to her. "HOW WAS THE MATCH YESTERDAY?" They asked and crowded around her desk when she was talking to her friends.

"Heh, of course we won!" Akaya beamed and showed a peace sign. "Rikkaidai must not lose!"

People squealed again and giggled at that.

After school, Akaya headed out to the courts as usual with her yellow jersey on. Then she noticed—the fan clubs crowding outside the fence and squealing while the regulars were warming up and Sanada yelling at them to go away which didn't quite help as his voice was drowned by kyaaas and squeals.

Akaya walked over to the courts and entered; people broke into cheers when they spotted her, and Akaya smiled nervously and entered, slightly scared by all the crowd.

"Eh? There're more photographers than I thought…" Akaya trailed off.

"They're interviewing us for the school papers." Yanagi explained.

"Heh~ That's pretty cool." Akaya said, as she put a thumbs up when a camera lens was directed at her.

"Regulars gather!" Sanada's strict voice thundered across the courts; regulars gathered and stood in a circle.

"The prefectural tournament starts next week. The date is next week Saturday and Sunday, one match per day. You are to show up at the Kanagawa public tennis park by 2 P.M.; the line-ups will be chosen based on Yanagi's data about one to two days before the tournament. That is all."

The regulars packed up and left.

"Prefectural, huh…" Akaya put her hands behind her head and mumbled while walking home with Yanagi.

"What's wrong? You look concerned."

"…I'm just worried that I might drag the team down. Senpai-tachi are all at the national caliber, but for me, I'm still learning." She looked at the ground and said. Yanagi stared at her, and smiled.

"You're doing just fine Akaya." He said, patting her head. "To be honest, you surprised us all on how well you did during the preliminaries. And you've grown tremendously." He assured.

"Really?" Her face brightened up.

"Really." He smiled. _'And you're exceeding my data almost every single time…'_

Akaya's revolution in the boys' tennis world was just about to begin.


	14. Second Encounter

Lucifer of Rikkaidai

Chapter 14: Second Encounter

Rikkaidai regulars were having an intense after school training as usual. Ever since the preliminaries, spies from other schools visited more.

"The number has multiplied by about 3.5 than before the preliminary tournament." Yanagi scribbled things down onto his notebook after clicking the number of people—just in his sight.

"I'm sure there's more hiding behind the trees and stuff." Marui said, looking around.

"You're pretty popular, kiddo!" Niou nudged Akaya and, said.

"Hehe, you can bet on that! I'm the second year ace~!" Akaya beamed and grinned, showing her teeth. "Oh yeah, shouldn't we go spy someone too?"

"We already sent out ten non-regulars to scout over 20 schools last week." Yanagi explained. "Of course, a lot of them are… below our standards." He said. "But I heard a first year named Echizen Ryoma from Seigaku is getting quite the attention in Tokyo. He's called the super rookie."

"Heh~ I wanna play him one day!" Akaya's eyes sparkled. "But of course, I have to play Tezuka-san too!"

"They're both lefties, for your information." Yanagi said.

"Lefties, huh…" Akaya seriously indulged herself in her thoughts, and Yanagi smiled.

"Speaking of which, I invited some high schoolers for a practice match today." Yanagi said, hoping to motivate Akaya.

"Really?" Akaya's eyes began sparkling.

'_Bingo.'_ Yanagi chuckled inside. Then a group of boys in non-Rikkai uniforms walked in with their tennis bags. They were high schoolers, by the looks of it.

"They're here~!" Akaya jumped up and down as her fists clenched in joy. When she did so, the group of high schoolers noticed her, and walked over to where the regulars were.

"Heh~ So this is the rumored only second year and female regular of the team?" One guy rubbed his chin and everyone inquired Akaya curiously.

"Yes." Yanagi answered. "Her name's Kirihara Akaya."

Akaya waved cheerfully. "Hi!" Then she tugged on Yanagi's sleeve, and gestured at him to lower his head so that she could whisper into his ears. Yanagi, curious, did as asked.

"Senpai, can I play all the lefties in that group…?" She whispered into his ears.

"…Of course." Yanagi smiled, satisfied of Akaya's eagerness and motivation.

Akaya started playing the lefties one by one as soon as Yanagi arranged the match orders.

"Inoue-senpai, are you sure this is the right way?" A young woman holding a professional camera, in about her early 20s, complained as she followed a man walking diligently.

"Yes, I'm sure." He looked back, and said. "Shiba, make sure you get a good footage! This school probably has the best players you'll ever come across!"

The two reached the tennis courts in no time; Shiba was stunned at what was going in front of her eyes.

"Woww, they're so good!" She exclaimed.

"Sanada, you'd make the regulars as soon as you get to high school." A guy that faced Sanada said as he breathed hard.

"Nishiki-senpai, this is just a small bit of our true skills." He said, and walked over to the two.

"Looking good as ever, Sanada-kun." Inoue smiled, and greeted.

"Thank you, Inoue-san." Sanada shook his hand. "Right now we're holding a practice match with the high schoolers. Please take as much pictures as you please." He said. With the permission, Shiba began taking pictures of the players.

"Wooowww, all of them are so good!" She marveled and the camera clicked every second.

"That girl…!" The two exclaimed after spotting a girl in a yellow jersey, on the courts, playing with one of the high schoolers. Akaya hopped up, landed on one foot, and quickly shuffled her way to the ball.

"One-footed split step! Is she the rumored only second year and female regular?" Inoue eagerly asked Sanada. Sanada smirked, more like a proud smile, as Inoue asked him.

"Yes, she's that Kirihara Akaya. She's got a great, limitless potential." He noted. "She'll become the key player of this year, if not this age."

"Hearing that from you, she must be good… but she still seems to have a hard time against a high school regular." Inoue said as he observed the girl drenched in sweat and breathing hard.

"Not at all. It's her 9th match against a high schooler… and she won every single one of them." Sanada smirked again and said.

"Whaat?" They both exclaimed.

"She has everything a successful player needs: talent, tenacity, and most of all, ambition."

"Is she that much of a… tenacious player?"

"Well, she's doing six times the training menu of all other regulars. We thought she needed to toughen up, so she started out with double, and then she asked our manager and data man Yanagi to triple that too." Sanada explained, while Inoue gapped at the girl.

"And how much is that…?"

"She's jogging about ten miles per day, with nine hundred racquet swings, three hundred push-ups, curl-ups, and sit-ups." Sanada listed, and Inoue's mouth became wider and wider.

"And she's doing all that… every day?"

"Every day. She's ambitious."

"Then can she beat you right now?"

"Of course not." Sanada shook his head a little. _'But… she__' __grow__ing__… __she'll become __stronger than anyone's ever imagined__.__'_

"Oh wait…" Shiba trailed off. She pointed at Akaya, who was then finished with her match and was chatting with Niou. "Where have I seen those two before…?" She scratched her head.

Akaya noticed Sanada looking at her; she grinned, and waved her arms gleefully. Sanada waved too and smiled.

"Well, other than being an excellent player, she seems like a sweetheart." Inoue commented and laughed.

"She's receiving quite the love from the regulars, yes." Sanada chortled lightly and nodded. "We've never expected a girl to become a regular, after all."

Inoue then noticed the high schoolers, on the ground from exhaustion after playing against Akaya. They were all lefties.

"Hey, all those high schoolers at her court… they're all lefties!" Shiba exclaimed.

'_Lefties, huh…?'_ Inoue's eyes glinted in curiosity.

* * *

><p>The day after at Seishun Gakuen, the boys' tennis team was having their own practices.<p>

"Ryuuzaki-sensei." Inoue walked to her during their break time.

"Oh, Inoue." She greeted him.

"I visited Rikkaidai yesterday."

"Rikkaidai?" Regulars' ears perked up at that, and they all gathered around Inoue.

"…How was it?" Ryuuzaki asked.

"Well, they're good." Inoue began. "And there's this one kid that's going to be one of the key players in this year's tournaments…"

"Who? Who?" Kikumaru asked impatiently.

"Her name's Kirihara Akaya." He replied.

"AAHH! The won who randomly barged into the courts the other day!" Momo shouted.

"The curly-haired one, right?" Fuji asked.

"That's exactly her. She's not a regular for nothing; she's good. Real good."

"A girl can't be _that_ good, right…?" Momo trailed off.

"Oh? She beat nine high schoolers in a row. And she's the only person in the team who knows how to do the one-footed split step."

"That's like you, Ochibi!" Kikumaru chirped and clung onto the kouhai. "Are you nervous~?"

"Not really." He coolly replied.

"But she really is the key player to be feared. Sanada acknowledge her limitless potential himself. Tezuka-kun, you must know Sanada Genichirou, right?"

"Yes." Tezuka answered as he nodded. "He's good."

"Indeed."

"Well then, I guess we need to toughen up more." Ryuuzaki smiled, bringing dreaded expressions to the regulars' faces. "We're doubling the level of our practice!"

"Ugh…"

"BUCHOOOUUU~!" Akaya yelled through the roof as she barged into the rooftop garden. Sanada, Yanagi, and Yukimura were talking; then Yukimura's face brightened as he turned to look at her.

"You're too loud, baka." Marui smacked her on the head lightly and scolded.

"Ehehehehe." Akaya just grinned. Then she ran to Yukimura's arms and hugged him tight.

"BUCHOU~!"

"Hahaha, hey there Akaya." Yukimura patted her head and laughed.

"I missed you a lot!" Akaya grinned and exclaimed. She didn't see him for about a week and a half and that much was all she needed for her to miss Yukimura.

"I missed you too." Yukimura smiled and said. The regulars walked over to the four also. "Hi everyone. How was the match last week?"

"It was awesome! We creamed everyone!" Akaya chirped.

"That's my team. I'm sure you can do fine until the nationals too."

"Even without buchou we can win everything!" Akaya chirped.

"That's a little disappointing to hear…" Yukimura trailed off, looking a little sad. Akaya snapped out, and gulped.

"You idiot! Apologize to buchou!" Marui scolded.

"Wahh, I-I didn't m-mean it in that sense—"

"Just kidding." Yukimura chuckled.

"Buchouuu!" Akaya whined. "You really scared me!"

"Huhuhu, my bad, my bad."

After talking and laughing, the regulars headed home. Akaya and Yanagi were walking together as usual.

"_Renji, Sanada. How's Akaya doing nowadays?" Yukimura asked._

"_I'm always amazed by her potential." Sanada spoke first._

"_What about you, Renji?"_

"_She exceeds my data almost every single time." He said._

"_Hearing that from you two… she really must be growing into something." Yukimura said, and the two nodded. "She is crucial to our 3rd victory at the nationals. Please take a good care of her."_

"Senpai?" Akaya called him for the third time; Yanagi snapped out, and looked at the girl.

"Yes?"

"You were spacing out! What were you thinking so hard about?"

"Nothing in particular." Yanagi said. _'Crucial to our 3rd victory, huh…'_

Akaya was rolling around on the bed, playing a video game in her leisure time. She then she got a call from Niou.

"Hello?"

"_I'm bored."_

"…" Akaya's veins popped.

"_Let's go hit. You're free right? The street tennis court built more courts so they can allow singles matches."_ He asked.

"Yeah. I supposed I could."

"_Cool__ I'll pick you up in ten minutes."_

"Alright." She hung up, and got ready to leave.

"Niou-senpai~" Akaya chirped as she closed the door to her house. He was waiting there as usual; the two walked over to the street tennis courts.

"Oh yeah. Here, wear this." Niou put a cap over her head.

"Huh? A cap?" Then Niou put a big sweatshirt over her.

"And this so that they won't underestimate you for being a girl."

"Okay."

Akaya walked with him to the tennis courts; when she got there, there were a lot of people as usual.

"Hey… I know him!" She pointed at one of the pairs playing; he was the guy that Akaya ran into as she was running away from the Seishun courts.

"Echizen! Get out of my way!" A guy yelled at the dark-green haired boy.

"You're the one in my way…" He mumbled, and they began to fight.

"He's him! Echizen Ryoma!" Akaya whispered to Niou.

"The Seishun rookie, right?"

"Yeah! I wanna play him!" Akaya walked up to the boy while he was sitting on the bench with his friend.

"Hi!" Akaya walked up to the boy.

"Hi…?"

"Want to play a match?"

"…Who are you?"

"Me? Uh… I'm… a regular from other school!"

"…Okay…? I suppose it couldn't hurt…" He stood up, and walked onto the court. "You can serve first."

Akaya stood at the baseline and bounced the ball. Niou sat on the bench and watched them amusingly.

"Hey, you look familiar…" Momo stared at Niou and mumbled.

"Do I?" Niou smirked.

"AHH!" Momo suddenly yelled, and pointed his finger at Niou. "Y-Y-You're f-f-from Rikkaidai!"

"That's right." He smiled slyly. He then turned back to Akaya who was about to serve; she tossed the ball up, and swung her racquet. The serve was a bit slow; when the ball bounced however, it turned and bounced towards Ryoma's face.

"Hehehe~"

"It's a twist serve…!" People around murmured and exclaimed. Ryoma seemed surprised too; for the next point, he got serious and got into a ready position.

Akaya served it a bit less strong this time so that he could return; then they rallied. Akaya was being pushed back when Ryoma was showing off all his fancy moves.

Akaya barely took the first game and it was Ryoma's turn to serve.

"You should play with your left hand."

"…" Ryoma silently switched his hand, and got ready to serve. Then when the ball bounced, it bounced towards Akaya's face. She dodged it barely, and it hit her cap, taking it off of her head. Her face was then revealed to the public.

"Eh…"

"Hey! That's the female regular from Rikkaidai!"

"What?" People began crowding. Niou then noticed some people taking out their cameras and camcorders to tape Akaya. And on top of that, Akaya's eyes were beginning to gradually turn red.

'_Oop, this is bad…' _Niou thought. He took Akaya's bag, grabbed her hand, and dragged her out of the court. "Sorry there, if you'll excuse us…"

"W-Wait senpai I'm not done yet!" Akaya flailed around as Niou began walking towards the exit.

"Akaya, remember, you're our hidden card until at least Kantou tournament. You can't go all-out on him right now!"

"Awww I was just getting started!" Akaya whined.

"Akaya~?"

"Okay, okay." Akaya turned to look at the bewildered boy as she was being dragged away. "I'll see you later, Echizen Ryoma~! We'll finish our match then!"


	15. The Start of the Inner Conflict

Lucifer of Rikkaidai

Chapter 15: The Start of the Inner Conflict

"6-0! Game and match, Kirihara Akaya! With a score of 3-0, Rikkaidai will be proceeding to the final round!"

"Ah~ah, it's so boring! And here I thought the prefectural would be more challenging…" Akaya sighed and said, as she walked to the next court. The semifinal round was a bit too easy, much to Akaya's dislike. There were people watching the rumored second year and female regular play, with wolf whistles and camera flashes time to time.

"Don't worry; you'll have fun at the Kantou tournament." Jackal said, patting her shoulders to help her get fired up.

"I hope so." She briskly and happily moved her feet, having something to look forward to.

The tournament ended in a flash; Rikkaidai won straight sets without giving any points, and easily placed the first in the prefectural.

"The next school is Mizuno middle school. They're pretty good." Yanagi said as he flipped through his notebook with a calculating look in his eyes. "Especially this one guy named Onigawa Shizuya is good. Very good."

"I've heard of him. He placed third in the Kanagawa all boys tournament last year." Yagyuu added and nodded.

"Ooh! He must be really good then!" Akaya exclaimed.

"Yes. And he will be likely to be in singles 3, since we'll be playing. Their doubles team isn't very strong; but the singles players are fairly good." Yanagi recited as he closed his notebook.

"Yay! I get to face the big shot!" Akaya exclaimed. The regulars walked onto the final court of the day, and the other team was already waiting and stretching. The game commenced soon; doubles one and two ended quite too easily that Akaya wasn't sure if their singles player was really up to her standards.

"Nice game, senpai." Akaya high-fived Marui and Jackal as they walked off the courts, with their power wrists still on each arm.

"That was a piece of cake." Marui said. "Mm, now that I said it I want cake."

"You can easily win this one, Akaya. Although… be careful a bit." Jackal said, sitting down on the bleachers.

"Leave it to me!" Akaya grabbed her racquet, and confidently walked onto the courts. Yanagi entered the court too, and sat on the coach's bench.

"Don't let your guard down too much, Akaya." Yanagi said. "Their doubles was easy, but this one might be quite the challenge."

"Okay!"

"Singles 3! Kirihara Akaya from Rikkaidai, Onigawa Shizuya from Mizuno!" The referee shouted, and the two walked to the net, facing each other. Onigawa towered over her by at least a whole foot; Akaya had to tilt her head up to see his face.

'_Uwaaa, a walking telephone pole!' _Akaya thought, amazed by the boy's height.

"Let's have a good game." He said, and put his hand out which Akaya shook.

"Yeah."

Akaya spun the racquet, and Onigawa got the first serve. The two walked to their sides; Onigawa got ready to serve the ball. With the referee's shout he tossed the ball up high—and smashed it right down to the service box.

Akaya didn't mind fast balls—it was _height_ that was her problem. Onigawa was about 6 feet tall or more, tall enough to smash the ball straight down and make the ball go way past her shoulders—and that was when he was just planted on the ground. When he jumped, the ball bounced higher, making impossible for Akaya to reach. She lost the first game like that, without being able to return any of his serves.

'_Dammit…' _Akaya grumbled to herself, and cursed at her genes for not making her any taller.

"Akaya's not doing very good…" Marui mumbled.

Yanagi, who was the bench coach, silently sat there and persistently watched Akaya play.

Akaya was having a hard time; when he approached the net, she couldn't lob over him. It was near _impossible_; if she wanted to lob high enough, it gave him more time to back up and smash, which of course easily bounced over her head _just_ like his serve.

'_If I can't lob you at the net… then I'll make you stay at the baseline!' _Akaya hit the ball back and forth the opposite corners of the baseline; however, the boy had long legs. He hit a ball towards hard spots for Akaya to reach. Akaya hopped up, landed on her foot, and chased the ball down.

"One footed split step…!" People from the other team watching murmured and marveled.

"Even though she can do it, it's not enough to catch up against Onigawa's ball!"

It was true; there was a limit to catching up to every ball he hit. Akaya lost the points, one by one; the score was then 3-0.

"Damn it…" Akaya's eyes began turning red.

"There we go, the red eye mode!" Marui exclaimed in anticipation.

Akaya stood at the baseline and gripped the ball with her knuckle;

"Be careful. Even I don't know where this'll bounce." She smirked which brought a confused expression to the boy's face. She hit the ball; as soon as it bounced on the service box, the ball shot fast towards the boy's face, and struck him nicely on the cheek.

"Hehehe, the game starts now." Akaya smirked.

Akaya won the rest of the games easily.

"6-3, game and match, Kirihara! Rikkaidai Fuzoku Middle School places the top in the prefectural tournament and will be proceeding to the Kantou regionals!"

"Yaaaayy we did it!" Akaya exclaimed and chirped as she bounced around happily.

"Hm. Good work, everyone." Sanada said as they gathered in a circle. "We'll keep up this work until nationals. Then, let's go home." Sanada started walking out of the park, and the team followed him. On the bus ride, Akaya couldn't help but fall asleep; the red eye mode took a huge toll on her body every time. Her head bobbled; then she finally closed her eyes and drifted into a slumber on Sanada's shoulder.

Sanada felt something slightly heavy on his shoulder; he turned to find Akaya's fluffy, curly hair. Her face looked really peaceful and childlike to him that a parent-like smile formed on his lips.

Click!

There was Niou with a very impish smile, holding onto a camera.

"That's very cute." Marui commented, looking at the picture.

"You—" Sanada gapped;

"Send that to me when you get home, Niou." Yanagi said too.

"Tarundo—"

"If you don't be quiet she'll wake up." Yanagi put his finger to his lips and said; Sanada shut his mouth right away and looked at Akaya who was sleeping soundly. He sighed a little then turned away to look outside the window.

"Akaya. Akaya, wake up." Someone shook her and said.

"U, Uhn…" She groaned and rubbed her face onto something that she was leaning on.

"Akaya!"

"H-Huh?" She jolted at a sudden shake. "A-Are? Where are we?"

"It's our stop." Yanagi said, with Niou grabbing onto her bag. "Let's go."

"Okay… EH! SANADA FUKU-BUCHOU!" She yelled as she found Sanada looking down at her. "What are you doing?"

"You fell asleep on his shoulder." Marui snickered and answered for him.

"Oh… okay. Jee, fuku-buchou! You have a really comfy shoulder!" Akaya laughed and said, getting up from the chair. Sanada merely sighed lightly.

"I'll see you tomorrow in the morning." He said.

"Alright! Bye~~" She said good bye to the rest of the regulars and got off the bus. What she didn't get to see was the fatherly, gentle smile that formed on his lips as he looked out the window after she left.

"Sanada-kun looks happy." Yagyuu whispered to Jackal and Marui, and they nodded in response.

Akaya got home, and took a shower; she felt _really_ exhausted, since it was her first time using the red eye mode in a while.

"At least I didn't hurt him _that_ badly…"Akaya mumbled, feeling the hot water drip over her body. When she got out of the shower, her mom was already home.

"Hi mom." She greeted as she dried her hair with a towel.

"Hi dear. How was the prefectural today?"

"We won of course." She grinned, showing her teeth and making a victory sign.

"You look awfully tired though. Are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah, I just met an interesting opponent, that's all." She smiled reassuringly.

"…Really? You seem… troubled."

"No, really, I'm just tired. I have to get ready for the morning practice tomorrow though. I'll get to sleep first. Good night mom."

"Good night hon."

So Akaya went upstairs, into her room, and closed the door behind her carefully; the red eye mode really tired her out. And not only that, she felt a little bad for the opponent; she didn't mean to really hurt him. Not at all. He only got hit once, no? No wait, twice. No, make that four times. Wait, maybe it was more…

"…" She carefully thought; it was about more than a just few times. She checked the clock; it was only nine o'clock. She grabbed the phone and dialed Yanagi's number.

"_Hello?" _His ever calm, relaxing voice came from the speaker; Akaya had to admit, just by hearing her teammates' voices she really could relax at the most grim and troubling times.

"Senpai? Are you busy right now? I had something to ask you."

"_I'm __not busy__. What is it?"_

"U-Um…" Akaya hesitated a little. "What do you think of my red eye mode?" She carefully asked but trying to sound as natural as possible.

"…" There was a few seconds of silence. _"Why do you ask?"_

"H-Huh?" Akaya was taken aback by an unexpected reply. "I dunno, I wondered if it was any good and all…" She trailed off.

"_In my opinion, in terms of enhancing your skill at a pinch, it's the most effective way to get yourself out of trouble during the matches, like you've seen today." _He replied, with much simplicity. _"It's very powerful, to be simple and exact.__ Your power and speed increases by almost 200%, although your technique does cut away by about 20%. However, looking at the overall effect it is a very powerful tool for you.__ It'll add a great deal to our 3rd victory."_

"I-I see." Akaya twiddled with her fingers. "Well, I'm glad it does something for the team."

"_Why are you asking this all of a sudden? Should I recite __more of __my probabilities?" _Yanagi asked.

"N-No, it's fine. I was really just wondering. Pure curiosity." She said, trying not to stutter. "Well, sorry for calling at such a late time."

"_Not at all. You should get to sleep, since we're having a morning practice tomorrow."_

"Yeah. Good night, senpai. I'll see you tomorrow."

"_Good night, Akaya." _He said; even though what he said troubled her, his gentle voice helped her relax and gave her reassurance. Maybe the red eye mode wasn't so bad after all since Yanagi said so.

She put her phone down and lied down on the bed. Then she thought back to the match she had that day—after the final round, to be precise. When she used the red eye mode, and hit the opponent for as many times she couldn't remember… it came to her. She saw, although only a flash, a hundredth of a second, the fear—the animosity—the frown that spoke thousands in her teammates' expressions. Was it just her? Sanada looked stricter, and _colder_ than ever; Marui looked less jolly, and Niou's face hardened a bit more.

'_Red eye mode's powerful, huh…' _Akaya thought, staring into the ceiling. _'If it really does help the 3rd victory and… enhancing my skills…' _She turned to hug her stuffed animal. _'I guess I can't help it. I better be tough about this.'_


	16. Better

Lucifer of Rikkaidai

Chapter 16: Better

Akaya didn't get to sleep quite well that night. She _couldn't_. Her teammates' expressions after the final match at the prefectural still lingered in her head, haunting her whenever she was trying to forget about it.

'_Gotta be tough. Gotta be tough. Gotta. Be. Tough.'_Akaya thought to herself over and over again as she looked herself into the mirror after washing her face with icy cold water. _'You got this Akaya. Have pride in being the Rikkaidai junior ace. No matter what, winning is what matters.' _After convincing herself she finally cracked a grin and left her room with confidence.

She headed to the practice as usual and resumed her daily life at school. She was flooded by letters, presents, and people that wanted to just check out the only female and second year regular in the boys' team.

During lunch time, Niou, Jackal, and Marui came over like they always did once in every so often.

"Akaya! I made some cake, tell me if it tastes good!" Marui barged in with a small box in his hand. "Stupid Jackal says it's too sweet."

"Oi, Bunta. Only _you _would eat something so sweet and say it's _not _sweet." Jackal sighed, shaking his head.

"Well, that's why I'm asking Akaya!" He said, opening the cake box in front of her. Inside the box was a rather adorably decorated cake piece. "It's a raspberry cheesecake!"

"It looks really good." Akaya ooh'd and grabbed a fork, taking a little piece and putting it in her mouth.

While she chewed, Marui looked with anticipation;

"What the hell!?" Akaya exclaimed and Marui frowned. "Jackal-senpai you're crazy, this cake is hella bomb."

"RIGHT!?" Marui soon brightened up and said.

"I forgot that Akaya's still a kid." Jackal said, shaking his head. Akaya just let it slip because she was busy enjoying the cake. "Mmm~ Marui-senpai, try making some pie next time."

"Alright!"

During practice—

"Oi, Akaya." Niou called her while she was taking a little break after a warm-up.

"Yeah?" She answered.

"Wanna play a game?"

"A game?" Her ears perked up at that. But then again, it was _Niou _that she was dealing with. "Ehhhhhhh I think I'll pass."

"Aw come on. If you win, I'll buy you a week's worth of ice cream."

A week's worth? Not _that _was too tempting.

"Alright. What are we playing?"

"Wanna play ASS? Best of three games."

"Ohoho! You asked for it, Niou-senpai!" Akaya smirked with confidence, grabbing her racket. She played it all the time when she was back in America.

After a while—

"YOU'RE KIDDING!"

"Hehe~"

"You know, even Yukimura couldn't beat Niou in ASS." Marui said.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME EARLIER!?"

"You wouldn't want to play then, right? I kinda want to see the dare that you're going to do." Marui said, laughing.

"What's the dare." Akaya groaned and asked. Niou grinned evilly, which made Akaya slightly nervous.

"I dare you to steal Sanada's hat right off of his head."

"…" Akaya merely stared into his face. "FUKU-BUCHOU'S HAT?" She yelled.

"No running, or else you're a coward and a sissy girl." He crossed his arms and stated firmly.

That did it; _sissy girl?_ No one calls Akaya a "sissy girl." Ain't no one.

"It's on." Akaya clenched her fists. "W-What do you think will happen though?"

"Oh, not much, just a thing or two. I made Marui steal Yukimura's jacket right off of his shoulders that one time." He said, grinning.

"And what happened." Akaya gulped and asked.

"Nothing much~"

"Senpaaaaaaii!"

"Whaaaat. You can find out for yourself."

She scanned the area and found Sanada going back to the bench to tie his shoelaces.

"Now's a good chance." Niou came over to her and smirked.

"Fine…" Akaya grumbled, and slowly tiptoed over to Sanada. _'A-Alright. Here goes nothing!'_She took a big gulp, and took his hat right off of his head.

"Hnn?" Sanada looked back, and noticed that it was a little bright; then he saw Akaya running away in a speed of light, holding his beloved cap in his hand. Sanada just stood there, a dark cloud surrounding the sky above his head.

"AKAYAAAAAAAAAAA!"

'_Waahh! I'm so sorry fuku-buchou please don't kill me please please please please please PUH-LEASEEE!'_ Akaya shed tears and sobbed as she made a run for it.

Sanada stood up and ran after her. Niou watched the boy run, and started snickering along with Marui who was holding his laugh for the whole time.

Sanada was sprinting; the girl was _fast_. All that training she did really paid off. Then he had a good idea; while she was running around the garden, he cut to the shortcut and was already at the building she was running to. When he was behind a corner, he heard someone's urgent footsteps—and it got slow little by little.

"Stupid Niou-senpai!" Akaya yelled. Sanada crossed his arms, and walked over to her when she was looking away.

"I swear I'll never ever make another bet with him again!" She yelled, and turned around. Then she bumped into a wall. "Eh?" She looked up; it was Sanada, not a wall.

"HOLY SHIETTTT!#)(&^&^%$%(!" Akaya was startled as heck and she literally flew out of her shoes. He was crossing his arms and looking down at her—with a deadly gaze.

"Waahhh fuku-buchou, it's all Niou-senpai's fault for making me do a dare don't hit me!" Akaya blabbered and flailed around. Sanada lifted his arms; Akaya flinched, and scrunched her eyes shut, but it was followed by a pat on the head. She expected a smack or two, to be honest.

"Eh?"

"It's fine. Can I have my hat?" He put his hand out.

"Y-Yeah." Akaya gave him the hat, feeling very awkward. "I-I'm sorry…" She trailed off, twiddling with her fingers and looking down at her feet.

"It's alright. You lost a bet?"

"H-Huh? Yeah… it was really stupid though. I didn't know Niou-senpai would be so good at ASS." She pouted. Sanada thought of all those times when regulars played as and none were able to beat him in that game.

"And he made me do a dare. Man, I could've gotten a week's worth of ice cream…"

Sanada was now smiling. "Making a bet, I'm not so sure if I agree to but… " He patted her on the head again. "Doing a dare is rather courageous." He said in acknowledgement. Akaya put on a huge grin, thinking that her fuku-buchou was the best she could ever ask for.

"Thanks fuku-buchou." She gave him a bear hug and walked back to the courts with him. They then continued their hardcore practice for the Kantou regionals up next.

"Can everyone gather for a moment?" Yanagi suddenly said, during the middle of the practice; curious, the regulars hurriedly walked over and gathered around Yanagi.

"I've been doing some interesting experiments—" He began. "And I've faced several…_failures,_ during the process, but now I've completed it."

"What is it?" Marui asked, clasping his hands behind his head.

"W-Wait." Akaya held up her hand. "D-Don't tell me, if you mean by experiments… you don't mean… what you did with my rose…?"

"…That's precisely correct." Yanagi's eyes glinted in mischievous joy.

"Can I stay out of this… experiment?"

"You just wait." He took out a bottle from an icebox container next to him; when he took it out, inside a clear plastic bottle was a purple drink. So purple that it almost looked _black_.

"…" All the regulars stared at the bottle for a couple of seconds.

"What is that?" Marui first broke the silence and asked.

"It's an energy drink. Try. It's Yanagi's healthy juice drink." He said and handed it to Akaya specifically.

"Why me?" Akaya looked at Yanagi skeptically. "And what's in it?"

"Healthy things."

"H-Healthy things!? What kind!? A-And have _you _tried this? What does it taste like?"

"…You could be our guinea pi—I mean, taster." He said after a long pause, avoiding the question.

"That's totally not trustworthy!" Akaya freaked out and tried to give him back the drink. "Senpai , I don't wanna!" She quivered in fear and tried to force back the bottle to the owner.

"If you won't drink it, someone else has to." Yanagi said.

"…" The regulars all stared at Akaya. "Drink it." They all said in unison, even Sanada.

"EEHHH!" Akaya yelled; she was _not_ believing this. This was hell.

"Believe me, Akaya. It's very good for you." Yanagi pat her on the shoulder and said. "Unless you want some specialized drinks that will come later on…"

"Urp." Akaya gulped. "Fine, fine I'll drink it! It can't be that bad, right?" She tried to cover up her fear by laughing out loud. She opened the bottle, and sniffed it a little. It didn't smell like anything.

"H-Here goes." Akaya's voice trembled, and she took the opening to her mouth with trembling hands; the regulars watched her intently, waiting for the reaction to come after. She took a big gulp; they could see her throat moving upward and downward.

"H-How is it?" Jackal asked as Akaya took off the bottle from her mouth.

"…" Akaya just stood there, tasting her tongue over and over again with a confused expression. "Ooh, grapey!" She exclaimed, and drank the liquid down again.

"DAYUM, YANAGI-SENPAI, THIS IS FREAKING GOOD!" Akaya exclaimed again after taking few more gulps.

"I want to try!" Marui impatiently said and took a gulp of the drink. "Hm… huh. It actually tastes pretty good. Kinda like Gatorade…"

Each of the regulars had a gulp of the drink; they liked it after having it. Yanagi felt relieved; although the ingredients were a little sketch, he was able to create a masterpiece.

"I really don't want to know what's in it though…" Akaya trailed off, thinking of the fact that he went through a little "failure" that made the rose "unable" to be identified. "But it taste hecka good!" She laughed.

"Why thank you." Yanagi replied, smiling.

"You should make other things with other flavors!" Marui said. "I personally would like green apple."

"Or peach!" Akaya exclaimed also.

"I'll try my best." He replied.

They resumed practice until the sun started setting.

"Akaya." Niou called her after practice. "Wanna hit the ice cream shop? My treat."

"Aw yeah, let's go!" Akaya happily hopped over to him.

"I wanna go too!" Marui yelled and ran over to them also.

"Who invited you?" Niou freaked out; there was no bottom pit to his stomach, and Niou was certainly not rich enough to feed Marui all he wanted.

"I invited myself." Marui crossed his arms, and started skipping away, putting his arms around Akaya's shoulders.

"Ahaha…" Akaya laughed at her silly teammates. At the ice cream shop, Akaya, Niou, and Marui ordered a double scoop ice cream cone

"Niou-senpai, Marui-senpai." She asked as they walked home together. She was done with her ice cream, since she did eat pretty fast.

"Hm?" They answered, already munching away the waffle part.

"Uhm… is it scary… when I go into the red eye mode?"

"…" They both turned and stared at her. Akaya gulped and waited for the answers.

"What kind of question is that?" Marui scoffed, and gave a little smack to her head. "Well, even though it's a little aggressive, you're still you, man! And it's not like you're a bad kid, you're doing it so that we can win the 3rd time at nationals."

"Yeah. Don't worry about it. And it's powerful, we definitely need that. You're you, and we trust you. We're a team, right?" Niou smiled, relieving Akaya of her worries.

'_They're not treating me any different even after that match…'_ The thought crossed her mind. Akaya broke into a huge grin. '_I have the best teammates ever.'_


	17. Oh, How You'll Regret It

Lucifer of Rikkaidai

Chapter 17: Oh, How You'll Regret It

With her teammates' reassurance, Akaya felt way better about keeping the red eye mode.

"Oh! Niou-senpai!" She noticed a familiar rattail on the back of a silver-sky blue-haired head while she was walking to school. She ran up to him and walked with him.

"Yo." He casually greeted.

"Good morning!" She chirped.

"Want some gum?" He blew a bubble and held out a pack of gum with one piece already sticking out conveniently for her to grab.

"Yay! Thanks!" Akaya, without thinking, grabbed the gum until it—

"EOWWW!" She flinched back and bit her finger. "WHAT IS THAT!"

"Puri." He turned off the little electrical switch to the gum that zapped electricity.

"Niou-senpai!" Akaya yelled. "That scared me!"

"Puri."

"Say something!"

"Piyo."

After a few hours, the lunch bell rang and Marui, Jackal, and Niou barged into her class like the usual. The girls squealed and the boys stared at them in awe.

"Senpai-tachi, why do you keep coming to the second years' floor?" Akaya groaned a bit and said. "Can I eat my lunch in peace?"

"I brought homemade bento." Marui said, holding up a huge lunch box.

"Marui-sama. My apologies for not realizing; you were just gracing my life with your presence." Akaya said immediately, grabbing onto Marui's hand which was holding onto the lunchbox, and they all stifled a laugh.

"Told you, she'll do anything for food." Niou said.

It was during the practice when the most outrageous thing happened. Akaya was having a hardcore practice as usual; then apparently the most "popular" guy in the school came over to the courts with flowers in his hands.

"What the fuck" Akaya narrowed her eyes and stared at the boy coming into the courts, with mobs following behind him. No non-members were supposed to be allowed on the courts during practice. And on top of that disaster, Yanagi was at a student council meeting and Sanada was at a student disciplinary meeting of all days.

"Hey, you." He called her. "You're Kirihara Akaya, I presume."

"And so what if I am?" Akaya crossed her arms. "No non-members are allowed on the courts. Leave."

"Heh. Cheeky cheeky~" He waved his fingers and chuckled. "You know me, right? I'm the most popular guy in the school."

Akaya just gapped and stared at the boy. Did he just proclaim himself "the most popular guy" in the school? No one pulls that kind of shit in front of Akaya. Ain't no one.

"And who are you? Dude, if I don't know you then you're not popular enough. A real popular one would be the regulars in this team since everyone in the school knows our team." Akaya scoffed and crossed her arms. The guy stepped closer to Akaya—then forcibly shoved the flower into her hands.

Okay. That's totally not rude. That's totally fine and it doesn't get on her nerves. Totally.

**'**_The nerve of this son of a—'_

"Well, if I must say so myself," He said, shrugging his shoulders arrogantly. "I'm giving you a chance to go out with me."

All the regulars gapped except Yagyuu. This guy was totally nuts. He should know better than to just act like a dick to Akaya, of all the people. If there was one type of person which Akaya did not appreciate, it was cocky people that were nothing but talk.

"Where's Sanada fuku-buchou when I really need him…" Akaya sighed deeply and rubbed her temples. "I need someone to stop me."

"I mean honestly, I'm wayyyy better looking than those two behind to you right now."

"Hey!" Marui yelled, realizing that he was talking about himself and Niou.

"And not to mention, I'm wayyy better than any of these regulars of your team!" He again arrogantly shrugged his shoulders and boasted. "At least I'm not dying and on the deathbed like your captain!"

That did it. That guy wouldn't see the tomorrow ever again. The regulars clenched their fists and teeth in anger at this egregious boast of the boy.

"What… did you just say?" Akaya asked, with her voice trembling from extreme rage. Her veins started popping on her forehead.

"What. It's true. I thought your captain's dying from a disease." He scoffed.

Akaya just stood there with her head hung low; she gave off the most dangerous, dark, and venomous aura.

"You bastard." She spoke quietly; her eyes turned red and redder. "I'll crush you."

The guy shivered after seeing her eyes turn bloodshot and the regulars freaked out as their kouhai began losing her cool.

"Oi, we have to stop her or else her fist will start flying out any seco—"

Before Niou even could stop her Akaya stormed over to the guy, gave a clean knee-kick to the guy's balls and punched him in the face right after he coiled in pain. The people watching flinched twice, seeing the guy's reproductive system get brutally beaten.

Akaya then grabbed the hem of his shirt and raised her fist again to strike him.

"Akaya, calm down!" Niou and Marui immediately rushed after her and grabbed her arms and waist, stepping in between her and the boy.

"Let…! Me…! GO! I'LL SEE THE END OF THAT BASTARD! I'LL CRUSH HIM!" She tried to get out of their grasp, but the boy had already run away.

Akaya's eyes were nearly brimmed with tears from anger and frustration. She was so angry that such a dickhead like that just had to insult her beloved buchou.

"Calm down Akaya." Marui patted her head.

"How could I be calm?! He insulted Yukimura-buchou!" Akaya yelled angrily as her hands shivered, and the tears of frustration that brimmed around her eyes finally rolled down. Sanada and Yanagi had then walked in, confused at what had happened; after seeing her teary eyes, they started fidgeting.

"W-What's wrong, Akaya?"

Akaya just looked at him. "Nothing. Yukimura-buchou's going to come back, and go to nationals with us for sure!"

After the big disaster the regulars continued the practice; during the practice, Yanagi assigned her to play a practice match with Niou.

"Me? With Niou-senpai?"

"That's right. Try to utilize everything you've learned and trained so far." Yanagi replied. "He's going to be a hard opponent… he's trained quite hard himself after he lost against you."

"Alright."

They walked onto the court, each holding onto a racket in their hands.

"Smooth or rough." Niou got ready to spin the racket.

"Smooth"

"It's smooth."

"I'll serve first."

They each walked onto the opposite ends of the court; Akaya tossed a ball few times and calmed her mind down a bit. The regulars were now watching in curiosity and amusement; Niou had definitely grown stronger after the match with Akaya, and he wasn't the only one who grew.

"This is interesting… who do you think will win, Yanagi?" Jackal asked the data master.

"…This should be a hard match for Akaya. I don't know the exact values since Akaya's skills are immeasurable right now."

"…Is that good?" Marui asked.

"I think that means her growth is off the charts, so yes." Jackal answered, and Yanagi nodded in approval.

The match started out with Akaya hitting a spin serve. Niou caught up to it, and returned it easily. The rally began for a while, and Akaya was able to take the first game.

"This is where the real trick starts…" Niou mumbled and held the ball in his hand.

"W-What the heck!" Akaya cried out as Niou's figure disappeared and was replaced with Yanagi's.

"The probability of you winning this game…. 24%." Fake Yanagi said, and served a ball. Akaya was able to easily overcome it, however; then Niou turned into Yukimura.

The game continued, and Akaya struggled hard. Although the score was 3-3, Niou definitely had an upper hand in that match.

"Look! Akaya's eyes!" Jackal pointed at her eyes which began turning pink then gradually red. Then as if the sky waited for it, raindrops started falling, dying the ground with dark blots. However, the two still played; Akaya became a lot more aggressive and she began attacking with harder shots.

"That's enough!" Sanada yelled. "It's raining. You can continue the match some other time."

"But…" Akaya trailed off.

"Akaya."

"Okay…"

The two hurriedly ran over to the bench, grabbed their things and ran into the club room with the other regulars.

"Man, I wanted to finish the match!" Akaya grumbled. "I was so close too!"

"I don't think so." Niou smirked and poked her forehead. "It was 3-3 with me in the lead. So technically I was winning."

"Che, I could turn the table in any second…" Akaya pouted. "But Niou-senpai, that was heeeeella cool!"

"What? My illusion?"

"That's what you call it? That's awesome!" Akaya exclaimed and jumped up and down, looking at Niou with ever sparkling eyes. "You looked _exactly_ like Yanagi-senpai and Yukimura-buchou! Teach me, teach me, teach me!"

"A magician never reveals his secrets, Akaya." Niou ruffled her hair and said. "Although, it's still incomplete. I can't do Sanada's fuurinkazan and some other things… I still need to work a little more."

"Still! You pulled off Yukimura-buchou pretty well! And Yanagi-senpai too!"

"Well, for that point, thanks."

Sanada walked in after organizing some things outside with Yanagi.

"I sent everyone home… now's a good time to discuss our tournament next week." Sanada said as he took his wet jacket off.

"So our first match is the Saturday next week. Kantou tournament will have a total of four rounds, and there will be first two matches on Saturday, then the semifinals on Tuesday, and the finals on Thursday." Yanagi explained, flipping through the files.

"The main schools that we will have to watch out for are Seigaku, Hyotei, and possibly Rokkaku." Sanada said. "We'll hold a practice match against Hyotei tomorrow, and here are the ladders: Doubles 1 will be Niou and Yagyuu. Doubles 2 Marui-Jackal. Singles three Akaya, two Yanagi, then one… me."

"Cool!" Akaya chirped. "I'm playing singles again?"

Sanada and Yanagi nodded.

"Although it's only a practice match, we must win." Sanada stated seriously and everyone nodded along.

"Um, fuku-buchou?" Akaya raised her hand.

"Yes?"

"Who's the person that I'm playing? It's not that Atobe right?"

"No. I'll be playing Atobe, and you're going to be playing… a new regular named Hiyoshi." Sanada looked at the paper and told her. "He's a second year too."

"Ooooh, interesting! I can't wait for tomorrow." Akaya put her hands behind her head and grinned. She was already thinking of creaming that Hiyoshi dude. "By the way, Yanagi-senpai. How many second years are on the team for Hyotei?" She asked.

"Three." Yanagi replied. "The one that you'll be playing, and other two who became regulars this year. Interestingly, they're both over 180 centimeters tall."

"WHAAAT?" Akaya exclaimed. How can kids of 14, 15 years of age pass 180 centimeters? "What do you eat to grow that tall?"

"Well, we're pretty tall too." Niou said. "Except for Marui who's just born a midget."

"Hey! I'm still taller than Akaya!"

"Yeah, by about an inch." Niou poked fun at him.

* * *

><p>"Atobe-san, who are we playing tomorrow?" Ootori, a silver haired boy who was ridiculously tall, asked as he took a sip of his water.<p>

"We'll be playing Rikkaidai." He said, sitting back on the bench arrogantly. "Rikkaidai's the biggest obstacle that we must all pass in order to succeed in Nationals." He said, and all the regulars nodded.

"So doubles 2 will be Oshitari-Mukahi. Doubles 1 is Ootori-Shishido, singles 3 Hiyoshi, singles 2 Jirou, and singles 1 Me. Kabaji, you'll sit this one out; we can't let your powers be known yet."

"Usu."

"Hiyoshi."

"Yes?" Atobe called the boy, and he answered in curiosity.

"You'll be playing the girl junior ace of the team."

"Ooh, that's nice isn't it, Hiyoshi?" Shishido and Mukahi slyly nudged his shoulders, and he frowned in annoyance. "Try to get to know her better."

At this Hiyoshi scoffed and retorted. "Senpai-tachi are so immature."

"Atobe, is she cute?" Mukahi asked impatiently.

"I don't know how she looks like."

"Aw, darn. Oh well, we'll see how good she is tomorrow!"

"Heh, she's probably not even half as good as any of their regulars."


	18. Decisions

Lucifer of Rikkaidai

Chapter 18: Decisions

"I'll be going, mom!" Akaya hollered as she dashed outside of her house.

"Have a nice day, honey!" Her mom said, but Akaya was already running outside. "Huhuhu, she's gotten livelier these days."

"Good morning Yanagi-senpai!" Akaya chirped when she spotted him leaning by the wall next to the main gate, waiting for her to come out.

"Good morning, Akaya." He greeted with an ever-calm expression. "So indeed it was 89% chance of you waking up early this morning due to the practice match today."

"Ehehe, yup!" Akaya replied; she really was looking forward to the practice match. "I'm ready to cream those Hyotei people today!"

"That's the right attitude." Yanagi smiled. They walked to school together like the usual, talking about tennis and other things and whatnot.

"Just a little reminder before the match Akaya…" He said as he walked. "Don't try to get too upset when Hyotei's buchou, Atobe Keigo, turns all cocky and obnoxious. He's not the most favorable man, you see."

"…Is he that bad?"

"Oh, you'll see how bad."

During the beginning of lunch break, when Akaya was hanging out with her classmates.

"Yo Akaya! So I heard you were having a practice match against Hyotei!"

"Yup! Hehehe, I'm so ready to cream those rich, spoiled kids." Akaya smiled evilly and replied.

"Good luck!"

It was during lunch time, when Marui, Niou, and Jackal came over to annoy Akaya like they always did.

"Kirihara-kun. See me after school in the teachers' office, alright?" The teacher, who was leaving the room, said to her before she left.

"Is it going to take long? I have a practice match with other school today."

"It won't take long. Please do come, it's important."

"Alright."

"Oooooh what'd you do wrong this time?" Marui grinned evilly.

"I didn't do anything!"

"Did you skip class again?"

"No!"

"Did you beat someone up?"

"NO!"

The rest of the day went by pretty fast all because Akaya took a nap through some of her classes. When the bell rang, Akaya headed upstairs to the teachers' office just as the teacher requested her to. She knocked on the door and went inside, wondering why the teacher wanted her personally after school when she wasn't causing any trouble in particular.

"Ah, Kirihara-kun. Go ahead and sit here." She pointed at the chair and greeted friendly. Akaya sat down. "I got a file for you sent directly to the school."

"What is it?"

"It's from the Great Britain Junior Tennis Association. It wanted to invite you to their program on becoming a pro."

"Wha… Being a pro? In England?!"

"Yes. They're also offering you almost a full ride scholarship to study at prestigious schools while playing tennis in their country. Cambridge University is one of them. They're guaranteeing a spot for you in the Olympics preparations team as well. Surely, you're thinking of going pro, aren't you?"

"I-I guess I wanted to play tennis for as long as I can, but…" She trailed off. "But if I go, I won't be able to play tennis at Rikkaidai anymore."

"But Kirihara-kun, do think carefully about the privilege you'll get by attending this instead of Rikkaidai." So the teacher went on and on about the advantages she'll have by attending this program. She was more focused on the fact that she'd be getting a full-ride to possibly Cambridge University or King's College later on. "Please do consult your parents about this and let me know before next Monday."

"Okay…" Akaya looked at the file, and stared at it. "Then, I'll be going sensei. Thank you very much."

"It's my pleasure."

Akaya left the room in silence, staring at the yellow envelope.

'_Do think carefully about the privilege you'll get by attending this instead of Rikkaidai.'_

The teacher's word lingered on her mind; to go or not to go, that was the problem. Yes, she loved tennis and she wanted to do something regarding tennis later on in the future, but to leave Rikkaidai…?

'_I dunno… I came here for__ the__ tennis __at Rikkaidai __in the first place!'_

"Ah! The match!" She suddenly shouted, thinking of the match she was forgetting; the clock on the wall already pointed 3, and the match was supposed to start at 3. Well the teacher lied when she said that the talk won't be for that long.

"CRAP!" Akaya cussed and ran to the locker room to change.

"Where is she?" Marui impatiently mumbled, glancing at Sanada time to time; boy did he look mad. He looked the maddest even more than when Akaya stole his hat and ran away. The club members were mumbling too, and the Hyotei regulars were standing their impatiently.

"Where is she?" Marui fidgeted around nervously.

Sanada merely crossed his arms, tapping his finger time to time.

"Oi, Sanada, who's the irresponsible member? It certainly wouldn't be the female 2nd year, aahn~?" Atobe slyly commented, smirking at Sanada as the entire team smirked at the regulars also. "I hope that by the time we do line-ups it's not sundown."

"…" Sanada just glared at him and scoffed.

"There she is!" Niou yelled, pointing at the direction of the locker room. Akaya was running fast, with her things all untidy.

"Fuku-buchouu!" Akaya yelled and ran into the courts, gasping hard. "Sorr—"

Then with a smack, Akaya felt her cheek sting in pain. Sanada's arms were raised, his face with a look that could kill.

"Sanada!" Niou and Marui first shouted; the club members who were watching, and some Hyotei regulars as well, gasped.

"Uwwaahh, how awful…!" A tall boy with silver hair cringed.

"Well, it's that Sanada we're facing here." The boy with blue hair and round glasses said.

"Genichirou." Yanagi frowned also, but Sanada didn't budge.

"We'll talk later. Get ready." He coldly said and walked over to the net first. Akaya became sad and looked down at her feet.

"That was uncalled for." Niou faced Sanada, pissed off for sure. He felt something cringe inside when he saw her get slapped.

"She was egregiously late on an important day. It's a consequence." He replied, and walked away. Akaya just quietly took out her racket from her bag.

"Akaya, are you alright?" Niou bent down to take a look at her face. He bent down and tried to look at her face, only to find Akaya really, _really_ sad. He never saw her look this depressed before.

"It's alright kid, he's just in a bad mood." Niou and the other regulars tried to console her but it didn't help much. The team did the line-ups and all the Hyotei regulars' eyes pinned on Akaya.

After the line-ups Akaya, the singles 3 player, was up first. When she was walking towards the court, Atobe stood in front of her, blocking her path..

"Hou… not bad." Atobe bent down and stared at Akaya. "I heard you were first planning to come to Hyotei; what a shame. You can always change your mind, although I can't promise you a place in the regulars spot. This Ore-sama could surely give you more than that Sanada ca—"

"Shut up monkey narcissist." Akaya glared at and walked past him without another word. Rikkaidai and Hyotei regulars all snickered at Atobe's shocked and offended face.

Akaya boringly walked to the net and faced the mushroom haired boy.

"How are you a regular?" He asked out of the blue.

"_Is_ there a rule that I can't be one? Just don't cry like a wuss after getting creamed."

"Why don't you take off your power wrists?"

Akaya merely scoffed and tossed him the ball. "You can serve."

Akaya stood at the baseline and got ready to receive; without another word the boy tossed the ball high in the air and served it. Akaya ran to it, returned, and continued a rally.

'_Going pro, huh__…'_ Suddenly it popped into Akaya's mind. "Ah!" She paused a little and the ball was already past her, rolling on the ground.

'_Pay attention, Akaya!'_Akaya yelled to herself and got ready to receive again.

"Akaya's not in a good condition today…" Niou worriedly said, watching the girl win each point barely.

"Peh, you're not good enough to be a regular." He said, while changing courts. "There're plenty others better. Your team is stupid for letting a girl on the team."

Akaya blew up at that. That bastard was not going to talk about her tennis and Rikkaidai team like that just because she was in a bad mood plus bad condition that day, and moreover her getting slapped by Sanada.

With a score of 3-0, Akaya was losing badly.

"Sanada. That wasn't like you." Yanagi quietly said while Sanada silently watched the two hit back and forth.

"Hmph." He grunted a little but did not respond.

"You're probably upset because it's Atobe you're facing, but she must've had a good reason. You know she was looking forward to this match more than anyone on the team." He explained. "You got a bit… impulsive because of his taunts. Don't let it get to you, and taking it out on Akaya even more so."

Sanada nodded a little.

"Hey Sanada, something dropped on the ground. Is that yours?" Marui pointed at the yellow envelope underneath and Sanada picked it up, which was lying next to Akaya's sloppily opened bag.

"Kirihara Akaya… Great Britain's Junior Tennis Association?" Sanada read the label on the envelope; Yanagi looked too in curiosity as Sanada took a look at the materials inside.

"This…" Sanada flipped through the papers.

"Genichirou, they're offering her to become a pro in England." Yanagi said, reading the paper.

"What?" Marui perked up his ears and freaked out. "She's not coming to Rikkaidai anymore?"

Sanada merely frowned and read the files. He knew that only the few talented people could be offered to become a pro in England, the country of tennis, and it was a big opportunity of her lifetime since he knew that Akaya would probably set her career towards a tennis-related field.

"If she goes then she can't play tennis with us anymore!" Marui exclaimed.

"Was she late because of this…?" Niou looked at them and said. "Now that I remember, her teacher wanted to see her after class."

"Oh yeah! I remember that." Marui nodded as well.

"…" Sanada felt the guilt creep up as he thought of it more and more. But that was not the biggest problem at hand; if Akaya left, there would be a huge gap in the line-ups because they had the minimum number of players to cover all singles and doubles; so far there wasn't anyone better than, or even close to being just as good as Akaya among the non-regulars.

"If she leaves, what are we going to do? She can't leave now, the nationals is still months away!" Marui exclaimed.

"But this is not a matter for us to decide. It's based solely on her and her parents' decision. If she chooses to leave, then there's no choice." Yagyuu countered.

"Yagyuu's right." Yanagi added. "We just have to trust her decision… This is no ordinary opportunity and it should certainly help Akaya's future."

"Then what do we do if she leaves? We already have the least possible number of regulars… and I know none of the non-regulars can fill in Akaya's space!" Marui clenched his hair and said.

"What do you think Genichirou?" Yanagi asked, thinking that Sanada was awfully quiet.

"…I think she should go. We'll just have to recruit another seventh member."

"Sanada!"

"Yes, we need her. But that shouldn't prevent her from succeeding in her life." He said. "In the end, our team shouldn't get in the way of Akaya's future"

"…" The regulars became silent after Sanada's comment.

Meanwhile, Akaya was having a tough time with a score of 4-1. Her mind was not on tennis right now; she was thinking of the offer and just what she was going to do.

"Play seriously." Hiyoshi frowned and requested (more like complained) as they switched courts.

Sanada, unable to see any more of this, walked up and faced Akaya.

"Akaya. I know that you're worrying about the offer from England. I saw the envelope."

"…" Akaya averted her eyes.

"Don't worry about it for now. And I apologize for my uncalled for action before." Sanada pat her head and apologized. "I got upset since it's Atobe that I'm dealing with… I hope you can forgive me. I'm sorry."

Akaya's face brightened up at the apology. So Sanada wasn't mad at her, but just upset due to Atobe's taunts and she just happened to be the unfortunate victim of his burst of anger. Sanada sighed, relieved at the fact that she forgave him.

"Now, show that monkey that Rikkaidai will always win." He smiled and Akaya grinned widely.

'_You gotta love this dude.'_ Akaya thought and gave him a bear-hug, burying her face in his chest. "I thought you hated me, fuku-buchou."

"There's no way I could." He said, patting her head.

"Hehehe, thank you, fuku-buchou! I'll win this one for sure!" She exclaimed, and ran back to the court.

"Indeed, it'd be a shame if she leaves."


	19. Challenging

Lucifer of Rikkaidai

Chapter 19: Challenging

"I'll crush you." Akaya glared at the boy and mumbled to herself. Now that she felt better about a lot of things, she was able to focus on the game.

About ten minutes or so passed; her eyes began turning pink.

"What the hell…" Hiyoshi stared at her as if she grew another head when her eyes turned completely red from bloodshot.

"HAHAHA! Eat this!" Akaya gripped the ball with a knuckle, tossed it and hit it. It flew fast towards the service box. As Hiyoshi got ready to receive, the ball bounced into a completely different direction; then it made a full contact with his cheek. He fell backwards and stumbled on the ground at the force and Akaya just stood there smirking evilly.

'_W-What am I thinking…?' _She was surprised at herself for being so violent without much effort all of a sudden. She felt chills down her back, thinking of what she had just done.

She felt exceptionally brutal and violent when she was in the Red Eye mode. It felt like it was gnawing her conscience little by little. She got irritated easily and she felt unhappy. And the only way to relieve that distress was none other than violence.

To be honest, she didn't like it that much—that was established a long time ago, but it's not like she could do anything about it. Not only can't she stop herself from getting bloodshot eyes, but also she needed that power and speed to assure her place in the singles ladder and even more so, the regular spot.

If she sealed it away, then there's no way she could get to Yukimura, Sanada, or Yanagi's level. Or maybe even other regulars. Responsibility held her back since she was the only girl and junior of the team.

This time Akaya served less powerfully just for him to be able to return it and play out the point—they rallied, then Akaya hit a drop shot, brining Hiyoshi out to the net. Just as he barely saved the ball the ball floated in the air; as if she waited, Akaya hit the ball and drove it right to his knee.

From that point, Akaya aimed for his knee over and over again; unable to take the vigor and the power of the shots, Hiyoshi lost every game from then, with Akaya clenching the victory.

"A-Akaya…" Her friends were shocked a bit at the unexpected violence of their friend. So did the non-regular club members; although they knew that the Red Eye mode changed her play style, _that—_targeting someone's body—was a bit too drastic. The Rikkaidai regulars didn't seem too surprised, however; all they needed was a victory. And on top of that, they knew that Akaya would hurt anyone that gets on her nerves and no one can really help that.

Hiyoshi was carried away from the court due to his swollen knee and Akaya just walked away from the spot.

"Damn, some rough game!" Mukahi frowned from seeing Hiyoshi's swollen leg.

"What a fearsome little girl…" Shishido mumbled.

"As rough as she is, she's good." Ootori quietly said and everyone acknowledged, nodding silently.

"Of course, that's what you should expect from the only second year and female regular in Rikkaidai. Hiyoshi, it's your fault for underestimating your opponent." Atobe said rather straightforward and strictly and Hiyoshi just looked away in shame.

Akaya came back to the bench and saw everyone's (except the regulars)—especially her friends'—appalled faces. Her instinct told her that it was because of her behavior on the courts with her bloodshot eyes. But she can't really help it; she decided that she'd deal with it, all for Rikkaidai's 3rd consecutive victory.

"Akaya…" One of her friends said. "Wasn't that too… I don't know, cruel?"

Akaya felt something snap as she heard her own friend criticize her play style. Okay, she admitted it was a little overboard. But her Red Eye mode just made her that way even if she didn't want to.

"What?" She shot back at him. "He deserved it. Che, all you people's reactions are the same." She frowned.

"Well, you could've beaten him without using that kind of tactic right?"

"Think as you like." She snorted. "This is how I play tennis and it'll always be this way. It's all for Rikkai's 3rd victory."

She then walked over to the bench, plopped down, and organized her things. She draped a towel over her head, slouched over, and looked down at her feet, troubled at the outcome of the match… and her Red Eye mode.

"Akaya, you alright?" Jackal and Marui asked as passed by her.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little tired." She replied without looking up. Yanagi and Niou, who were both exceptional analyzers, sensed something queer about Akaya's condition. Meanwhile, Marui and Jackal walked into the courts, getting ready for their match.

"Hey, what's wrong." Niou crouched down in front of her and tried to look up at her face.

"Nothing." Akaya looked away, avoiding eye contact and covering her face a bit with the towel.

"…" Yanagi and Niou looked at each other. They exchanged glances and decided to leave her alone for a bit; Niou just gently patted her head to make her feel better and Yanagi rubbed her back a little.

The matches all ended with Rikkaidai's win, and Sanada and Atobe's match was the most interesting to see. Although Atobe lost, Akaya did admit that he was just as good as Sanada.

The team lined up and said good-bye to the Hyotei regulars.

"Good work today." Sanada said as they gathered around. "Keep up this pace and let's do well this Saturday."

Akaya, as soon as Sanada was done talking, went to the locker room. So many things overwhelmed her at the same time that she didn't know just where, what, and how to take care of first.

When she left the lockers, Sanada and Yanagi walked up to her. They took her to the clubroom.

"Akaya, we need to talk about that offer." Sanada began.

"…I'm not going. I want to go to the nationals with senpai-tachi."

"Akaya." Yanagi spoke this time. "Please do remember that this is probably one in a lifetime chance. This will pretty much guarantee your success in the future. You wanted to become a pro, didn't you?"

"I know! But I can't just leave!"

"Akaya, I'm not making you go. I just wish that you'd consult carefully with your parents. I could guess that the teacher probably told you to consult with your parents, but knowing you, you won't." Sanada said.

"So we're telling you, as a senpai and a friend. Do choose wisely after talking over it with your parents and make a choice that you won't regret."

"…Okay."

"Now, Genichirou and I have matters to discuss, so go on home first." Yanagi smiled and said. Akaya left the club shack and dragged her feet towards the school gate, thinking deeply about what her two senpai said; then she spotted Niou waiting by the gate.

"Yo, let's go home together."

"Okay."

She said, and started walking without another word. Niou followed right next to her, and glanced at the girl: a blank expression.

"You know, I'm always here if you're troubled or in need of any consultations. And also the others." He said, putting his arms behind his head.

"…I know." She answered, but said nothing other in particular.

"…Come here." Niou suddenly grabbed her hand, and started walking towards the opposite direction.

"W-What are you doing, Niou-senpai? Let me go!" Akaya freaked out and tried to let go.

"Just follow me."

Akaya literally was dragged away by Niou. When they stopped, they were in front of Akaya's favorite desert café. Niou opened the door, went inside, and grabbed a seat.

"Now, what do you want?"

"I don't feel like eating." Akaya frowned.

"Don't frown, you'll grow wrinkles." Niou strictly said and rubbed away her frowns with his thumb. "It's my treat, so order up. You know this kind of chance doesn't come up often." He smiled and said. The waiter dropped by and handed the two menus.

"But—"

"No buts. Listen to your senpai for once, will ya?"

"…" Akaya sat there and stared at the table. "Okay." She grabbed the menu. They each ordered their things and as soon as the dishes came out, Niou began talking.

"So, tell me what's making you feel down."

Akaya just sat there in silence and played around with the cherry on top of her sundae.

"Akaya."

"Nothing."

"Come on, you know this Petenshi knows his way around his teammates." He spoke again. It was just impossible to hide things from the Petenshi.

"It's just… this England thing." She said. "I know that I want to play tennis even when I grow up, but... but…" She let out a frustrated sigh, being unable to finish her sentences. Niou leaned on his palm and just listened.

"I want to go to the nationals with senpai-tachi. I really do. And keep on playing tennis with you guys, maybe even in high school. Only if Sanada-fuku-buchou and Yanagi-senpai didn't tell me to talk over this with my mom I would've just hid it from her and stayed at Rikkaidai. But when I tell her, she's definitely going to force me to go, especially since this stupid Cambridge is involved. But I don't want to. I don't see the reason in playing tennis without people I want to play it with."

"…" Niou stared at her. "Well… I do want you in the team until the nationals and later on, if the chance comes. We all do. But we're just saying that you'd make a choice that you wouldn't regret making when you look back later. England is the most prestigious country you can be in to play tennis and have it as a career."

"That's exactly what Sanada-fuku-buchou and Yanagi-senpai said." Akaya pouted. "But if I honestly don't want to go. I just don't want to."

"Well then you should stick with that decision."

"But I'm pretty sure they'll find out if I talked to my mom or not, so I have to tell her that I got this thing and she'll force me to go."

"But, wouldn't she be able to respect your decision and let you stay?"

Akaya paused for a second. That could work. She wasn't too sure, though. It was pretty risky.

"If you're that serious about your decisions, I'm sure your mom would let you do what you want. After all, she would care for you happiness." He smiled.

"…" Akaya looked back down at the sundae.

After finishing their desserts Niou walked Akaya home, and stopped in front of her house.

"Akaya, remember that we'll always respect your decision too. Whatever choice you make is yours, and we'll support you all the way." He said, patting her head.

"…Thanks Niou-senpai." Akaya said, looking away. "…Can I have a hug?"

Niou looked slightly surprised for a moment; then he just smiled. "Sure." He wrapped his arms around her and gave her a strong, firm hug, patting her on the head.

"Hehehe. Thanks senpai. I feel a lot better now."

"Good. I'll see you tomorrow Akaya, you better come to school with a smile." He said as he walked away. Akaya waved at him and went inside.

'_A lot's happened in just one day…'_ She sighed as she walked in.

"I'm home~"

"Welcome home Akaya." Her mom greeted as she walked downstairs.

"Hi mom." She said. "Can I talk to you for a sec?"

"Sure, let's sit down."

They sat on the sofa. Akaya took the envelope out, and put it in front of her mother.

"What's this?" She opened it in curiosity.

"England is offering me to become a pro and their Olympics team player... and also going to Cambridge University or King's College." Akaya explained.

"Akaya, this is amazing!" She exclaimed.

"But, you see…" She trailed off. "If I go then I obviously have to leave Rikkaidai… and I don't want to."

"And why is that?"

"I still want to go to the nationals with my teammates. I don't want to play tennis if it's not at Rikkaidai."

"But this is a really good chance for you! Didn't you want to become a pro?"

"I know. I've thought about it. I guess want to become a pro, but I'd rather just stay at Rikkaidai. Mom, I'm not going to change my mind about it and I hope you can see it." She said, with determined look in her eyes.

"…" She put the envelope down and plunged into a thought. A couple second later, she opened her mouth.

"Alright."

"Really?"

"Yes. You're old enough to make decisions… Are you sure this is what you want? Are you sure you won't regret this?"

"I'm sure."

"Then that's fine with me. But you have to win nationals in exchange, alright? And I saw your history and lit paper score in your room…" She glared at her.

"Ulp."

"10 out of 40 for history, a D- on an essay. Nice going." She held up the paper from the pile of papers on the table.

"S-Sorry!"

"I hope I can see some progress in history from this… and lit too."

"O-Okay."

"And that's by end of this week. You remember I told you that your dad's coming home this week, right?"

"What?" Akaya yelled.

"_Hey mom, when's dad coming back home?" Akaya asked._

"_Anytime soon. It'll be in about couple weeks. Probably end of this month."_

"…Oh."

Her mom groaned a little. "Well, just remember that he's coming on Friday. So I hope I heard some good news in history and lit by then."

"A-Alright. Um… keep this a secret from dad?"

"Of course, he'd flip if he hears about you rejecting this offer." She nodded. Akaya's dad was more into Akaya's tennis career than her, and he would definitely force her to go to England if it was for the sake of becoming a pro on top of going to a prestigious university.

"Azuya will be coming home to see dad too." She said.

"Really!" Akaya's face brightened.

"Huhuhu, yes. He's coming on Thursday."

"Yess! Alright mom I'll try to bring you the best news!"

"Good." She smiled triumphantly. "Make sure you get an A on your next paper!"

"Okay… then I'll go take a shower." Akaya stood up and headed upstairs. _'I'm sure things turned out well, but why do I feel like she's got the better of me… Ahaha…'_

After she took a shower, she immediately dialed Niou's phone number.

"_Hello? Akaya, how was it?"_

"My mom said yes! She said that I could stay!" She exclaimed.

"_That's great!" _He exclaimed too, genuinely happy.

"You were right senpai, she said that she would trust my decision and let me do what would make me the happiest."

"_Haha. I told you so. Now the team shouldn't be in any trouble."_

"Yeah. I'm going to tell everyone as soon as I get to school tomorrow."

"_Alright." _Niou chuckled. _"Um, I kind of thought about this, but…" _He paused for a second. _"Is anything else bothering you?"_

Akaya froze; she was forgetting about _that_ all along. The Red Eye Mode. "N-No, why?"

"_Well, I thought you really looked concerned, and this problem honestly wasn't _that_ bad. But if it's all okay then it's fine."_

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine. Uh, so, I'm going to go to sleep now. I'll see you at school tomorrow senpai."

"_Yeah sure. I'll see ya. Good night kid."_

"Good night."

Akaya hung up; it was pretty surprising how Niou really noticed the most trivial things about her. She lied down on the bed after turning the lights off; now she had another thing to worry about.

'_The Red Eye Mode… it's powerful. It's important for me winning.'_ Akaya thought. She couldn't shake off the image of Hiyoshi being carried away to the bench. To tell the truth, she felt bad. That time when she was actually playing she didn't know that she was doing such thing; now it was scaring her a little, especially since she was losing control over herself.


	20. Oh No, Another Obstacle

Lucifer of Rikkaidai

Chapter 20: Oh No, Another Obstacle

Couple days passed by as usual, and Akaya's skills were increasing tremendously every day, in correlation with her violence showing every time she went into the red-eye mode. Of course, Akaya tried very hard to control herself—it just didn't work quite well most of the time.

On a Thursday afternoon after the tennis practice, Akaya was walking out of the school with Niou, Marui, and Jackal until—

"Akaya!" She heard a strangely familiar, middle aged man's voice; she did not like the feel of it. By the school gate she spotted none other than her dad, who was supposed to come the day after. He ran towards her and tackled her into a bear hug.

"D-Dad?" She freaked out. "WHY ARE YOU HERE!"

"Aw, isn't my sweetie-pie not glad to see me?" He pouted a little. He had straight black hair and green eyes just like Akaya's, although his hair wasn't even near being curly.

'_Sweet__ie__-pie?'_They all smirked inwardly at a silly, fluffy nickname.

"Wha—I thought you were coming tomorrow!"

"I wanted to surprise you! But…" He glanced at the three boys awkwardly standing behind her. "Huh. Are they your friends?" His eyes narrowed suspiciously at the sight of three guys around one girl.

"Uh, yeah they're my—" then Akaya froze. Shoot, he can't know about her being only female on the team. Never. He would definitely drag her out by any means, even if he was going to go back to America with her. "UHH, they're my t-tutors!" She blurted out and said, forcing a smile.

"Eh?" The three all blinked. Akaya secretly nudged Niou by the side, and he coughed, nudging the other two. They shuffled nervously after comprehending the hint, and smiled smugly.

"Ahaha, y-yeah. We're her, er, tutors." Niou said. "Nice to meet you, I'm Niou Masaharu."

"I'm Marui Bunta."

"Jackal Kuwahara."

"Hou~ So you're her tutors!" He ooh'd and rubbed his chin, curiously observing three young men.

"Uhh, dad, I have to go to the library with them for a while for tutoring." Akaya said, a bit too in a hurry.

"Oh really? Well then, be home by seven o'clock. Gentlemen. You don't dare lay a finger on my daughter…" The aura surrounding him turned dark.

"Y-Yes sir!" They answered, cringing.

"Good." He immediately changed and smiled innocently. "Then I'll see you at home sweetie-pie~" He waved and left; Akaya was now sweating heavily, raincloud surrounding her head. She hadn't thought about it, but she was in a grave danger regarding the fact that his dad was overly strict and stubborn.

"Sweetie-pie…" Marui snickered a little.

"Shut up, that's not the problem! Senpai-tachi, we need to talk!" Akaya blurted out and dragged them to a nearby café.

"So, he's your dad? He doesn't have the curly-hair. Hehe." Marui sipped on his favorite mango juice and asked. Akaya looked bummed out; she slapped herself mentally over and over—and banged her head on the table over and over for not thinking of this earlier.

"Akaya, calm down first." Jackal hurriedly put his hand in between her forehead and the table.

"I'M SCREWED! TOTALLY SCREWEDDD!" Akaya yelled and pulled on her hair. "My dad—he seems really aloof and goofy but actually he's a strict Asian demon inside! If he finds out that I'm in a boys' team—" Akaya gulped at the horror. "He'll literally ship me back to America!"

"Oh snap. That doesn't sound good." Marui said, making a face.

"He'll probably want to see me playing tennis here! And if he sees me among the boys, then I'm done for sure!"

"Then what do you plan on doing?" Niou asked.

"I don't know…! I forgot to think of it! I'm such an idiot!"

"Then let's think of something. How about you tell him that you're our club manager?"

"That won't work. He shunned boys ever since I was born! And he's more into me playing tennis than me!" Akaya put her head down on the table and whined.

"I mean, you really don't have any choice… you'd just have to stay quiet. And Kantou tournament's this Saturday too." Marui said, with much simplicity.

"Okay. If that's the case, then I'll try my best to keep dad out of this."

Niou and Akaya walked home as usual after their little snack time. When she got to her gate, someone familiar came out of the house—it was her brother. She brightened up immediately, and ran to him, hollering his name.

"AZUYAAAAA!"

Her brother noticed her and she tackled him with a bear hug.

'_Who's he…?'_Niou thought suspiciously, awkwardly standing there.

"Hey, Akaya!"He chuckled and hugged her too. Then he noticed Niou, and his face hardened immediately at the sight of a male next to his precious sister.

"Who's he."

"Huh? He's my teammate senpai!"She chirped. "Niou-senpai, this is my brother."

"Oh." He was a bit relieved. Then on a second thought, why was he relieved? "Hi, I'm Niou Masaharu." He said, smiling and putting a hand out for the guy to shake.

"…Kirihara Azuya." He put out his hand, and squeezed it—a little bit too hard. Niou squeezed back.

"I surely hope this senpai treats you well in a team, Akaya." He forced a smile and snarled.

"I'm glad our Akaya has a nice brother—I hope." He forced a smile also and snarled back, squeezing harder.

"Our Akaya? It seems you two are in a fairly decent term. Although I expected a bit more from someone so close to my sister."

"I'd say the same."

They glared at each other and sparks flied everywhere.

"Aniki, stop being such a butt-head!" Akaya slapped his shoulder.

"O-Ouch. Sorry." He immediately let go and apologized, rubbing his shoulder.

"Ugh. Anyways, you better keep a secret about this from dad!"

"Alright, alright."

"Hey Niou-senpai, I'll see you tomorrow." She said.

"Alright. See ya."

The three parted.

'_Sly sea-urchin bastard…'_

'_Stupid sister-complex douchebag…'_

Akaya walked inside, bickering with her brother.

"But Akaya~ I missed you a lot!"

"I didn't." Akaya scoffed and stated bluntly.

"Aw, so cold…" Azuya sniffled. They opened the door, and walked in.

"Kirihara Akaya." Her dad called her, and she did _not_ like his tone of voice. And it was definitely not a good sign when your parents called you by your full name.

"Y-Yeah?" She gulped.

"Come sit down." He commanded. When she walked into the living room, he was sitting on the couch with her mom. Whenever parents sit on the opposite side of the couch—kids, you are in a big trouble.

"Come sit down." Akaya quietly sat down, scared to death to find out what her dad was going to talk about.

"What is this?" He put out a paper—it was the paper from the envelope that England sent to her.

"Th-That…" Akaya paled a bit. _'Shit. Fuck. Dammit. I forgot to hide that…!'_She cursed and smacked herself over and over inwardly.

"I'm asking you what this is." He repeated.

"Th-That's… a, um… an offer… to become a pro…"

"Interesting. And it's from England, no? The country with the best tennis opportunities?" He stared down at Akaya with a piercing gaze and intimidated her.

"Y-Yeah…" She avoided his gaze and answered.

"And that you're not going. Tell me why."

"It's because…" She twiddled around with her fingers. She looked at her mother, and she had the look of 'tell-your-father-before-he-blows-up'. "I-I want to stay at school and continue playing tennis with my teammates."

"And how about your team? Anything special I need to know?"

"I-I'm… the only girl in a team."

Silence. Akaya gulped down, looking for any sign of anger or shock in her dad's blank expression.

"KIRIHARA AKAYA!" He blurted out, making Akaya jump in surprise. But it's not that she didn't expect any lesser reaction.

"But the girls' tea—" she tried to retort.

"I don't care! You are out of that team as of today! How come you didn't tell me anything about this, Sachiko?"

"Azuka, Akaya was having so much fun and all her senpai-tachi were all very considera—"

"Let me make my position clear." He cut her off, with much simplicity. "You're going to England, and you're quitting that team starting tomorrow."

"Wha—"

"Do you think you'll have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity like this?! You want to give up going pro to play for a middle school team!?"

"But—"

"No buts. If I tell you so, listen to me. Don't think of staying in Japan if you're planning on disobeying me." He said, crossing his arms and looking into Akaya's eyes intently.

"…No." She said, clenching her fists.

"Akaya."

"No!" She got up, dashed up to her room and locked her door. This was _not_ happening to her. After she locked her door she heard someone's footstep coming closer to her room, followed by a knock.

"Akaya?" It was her brother. "Akaya, open the door, please?"

Akaya just ignored him, turned off the lights, and went to sleep. She was going to wake up early next morning to go to morning practice and get out of her house before she got caught.

She opened her eyes and it was about six o'clock. Since there was a morning practice at 6:30, she had enough time. She quietly opened her door, washed silently, changed, and tiptoed outside. The house was very quiet and everyone was still sleeping.

'_I won't let dad stop me. I won't!'_

Akaya opened the door and sprang outside. She then started jogging towards the school, troubled by what she was going to do. Her dad was definitely not a bluff. If he said he'll drag her back to US, he'll do it for sure. He was a man of action.

She got to school before she realized and found her team warming up. She walked into the courts and put her bag down.

"Good morning, Akaya." Sanada said. Akaya turned around and saw her fuku-buchou. Was she going to tell him? She should. But what's that going to achieve? Could he talk to her dad for her? No, that would backfire and worsen the situation.

"Akaya?"

"G-Good morning fuku-buchou." She said and hurried off to the courts. Sanada thought that it was a little strange; but he let it slide.

'_How am I going to tell the senpai-tachi? Even if I tell them, what can they do? My dad's impossible to stop!'_Akaya was thinking busily inside as she rallied with Yanagi. _'You know what? Screw what he says. I'm staying and I'm going to nationals.'_

Akaya, after the practice, headed to her class. She plopped down on the chair and put her head on the desk, facing the windows. The classes soon started but Akaya just couldn't manage to focus. Akaya worried and worried for the first and second periods.

'_She didn't sleep through the class…! There's something really wrong!'_Everyone, including the teachers, thought after seeing Akaya go through the first two periods without dozing off to sleep.

She stayed like that even during lunch break, when she was supposed to be gobbling down food and snacks.

'_Something's definitely not right!' _Everyone thought.

After school, Akaya dragged herself to the changing rooms. She was debating whether or not she should go to practice, in fear of her father coming after her. But it's not like she could just skip a practice; Kantou tournament was coming up just a day after.

So after couple minutes of debating, Akaya headed out to the courts. She was glad that she always carried a hat in her tennis bag. With that she was going to cover her face as much as she could.

"Chi-su, fuku-buchou." She greeted the tall boy.

"Hm?" He noticed someone that had a black cap like his, with long pants and a jacket that fully covered the body. He recognized the voice—it was Akaya. "Akaya?"

"Yeah?"

"You're wearing a hat." He said lifting the hat a little to see her face. "I never see you with a hat on."

"Uh, um. Well, it's a little sunny today."

"It's not sunny at all." Sanada said, looking up. Indeed, the cloud filled the sky and covered up the sun. "In fact, it's quite… gloomy."

"Ahaha! You're right! Uh, I'm just wearing it cuz…" She twiddled around with her fingers. "Cuz I wanted to wear one! Okay, gotta go practice! Ahahaha!" She ran off and started rallying with Marui.

It was about half an hour into practice; Akaya soon forgot about the trouble and was having fun practicing. It was during the match against Marui, when she got ready to receive his serve—


	21. I Hate My Dad

Lucifer of Rikkaidai

Chapter 21: I Hate My Dad

"KIRIHARA AKAYA!"

"WAGGHH!" Akaya yelped and missed the serve as the ball grazed past her. _'__Ah, _fuckiddy-fuck._'_Akaya thought and prayed to all the gods that it wasn't her dad. Well, it was; it was his unmistakably distinctive, loud voice. _'Please don't find me please don't find me please don't find me please don't find me'_ She looked down and covered her face with the cap.

Everyone's attention turned to the man as he walked into the courts.

'_Am I busted. Goddamn.' _Akaya cursed again as the man walked towards her direction.

"I'm sorry, only the team members are allowed in the courts. You are…?" Sanada said and politely blocked his way although he had a feeling that the man looked extremely familiar.

"I'm Akaya's father." He stated and walked towards Akaya.

'_Ah shit I've been found, I've been found.'_

"Honey, I told you to quit!" He said as Akaya fidgeted around. "What is this, a cap! You thought I wouldn't be able find you? Quit this nonsense right now!"

"No." She answered timidly.

"Are you fine with me taking you back to America?"

"No…!"

"Then quit the team now and go to England!"

"No!"

"Akaya."

"NO!"

"Kirihara Akaya. I'm being serious." He said, his face turning really serious.

"What's going on?" People gathered around, curious at what was happening. The regulars gathered too, hearing her dad forcing her to quit the team.

"I'm being serious too. You can't make me quit the team. The big tournament's just tomorrow and you're not going to make me quit this team."

"Then that leaves me with no choice." He said. "You're coming with me to America tomorrow night."

"What?" People mumbled as Akaya hollered. It was a day before the Kantou regionals, and they didn't have any extra regulars to fill out the singles spot. If Akaya had left, then the balance of the entire team would be broken unless a non-regular replaces her in the singles spot, which was a big risk.

"Who's in charge of the team here?" He asked, looking around.

"I am. Hello, I'm Sanada Genichirou, the fuku-buchou." Sanada stepped out.

"From now on, Akaya will be quitting the team."

"But dad!"

"Akaya, be quiet." He shushed her. "It's either going to England, or coming back to America with me. What's more, I can't allow you to be stuck among a bunch of guys."

"But the no one in the girls' team takes the sport seriously!"

"Then I'll find a private tennis team where they take the sport seriously."

"And I made a promise to Yukimura-buchou! He's getting his surgery on the day of the final round and we promised to win!"

"Your teammates could win it for you. You can win in other teams plenty more times."

"It has to be this team! And we have an important tournament tomorrow, I'm playing singles!"

"Important tournament? I'm sure other guys could replace you."

"Excuse me." Sanada interrupted. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but Akaya's a very important part of our team. Without her, it'd be challenging for us to win this tournament with our buchou in the hospital bed." He explained thoroughly. "Please, I myself would like her to stay. All the regulars do."

They all nodded along.

Meanwhile, Niou was shocked. She can't just leave the team.

'_She's can't just leave! The team needs her!' _He thought. _'And I want her in the team to__o…__'_

Azuka just stood there, staring intently at the intimidated regulars. "I make the final decision. Akaya, I will give you until after the match tomorrow. No exceptions. Decide by then." He said and walked out, leaving the bewildered girl on the courts. People mumbled and waited for her reaction.

First her clenched fists trembled. Then she first took a deep breath, and—"DAD I HATE YOU!"She yelled on top of her lungs, cupping her mouth and literally screaming; everyone could spot the man flinch noticeably as he walked away. The people watching flinched too.

"Practice isn't over. Everyone continue." Sanada said and everyone hesitantly resumed practicing. Akaya, after catching her breath, walked over to the bench and drank down an entire bottle of water.

"Akaya." Sanada called her and the regulars walked over to the bench.

"FUKU-BUCHOUUUU!" Akaya wailed and flailed. "WHAT AM I GONNA DOOO!"

"Akaya, calm down." He first patted her head and said. "Let's talk about this after practice. You're coming to the match tomorrow anyways, so practice first, we'll talk later."

"Okay…"

During practice, Akaya was letting out her anger on the ball and no one could stop her; a dark aura was surrounding her, clearly showing that she was pissed.

She went to the water faucet to cool her head a bit; when she was washing her face, she felt a presence from the corner of her eye. She couldn't see, so she took a towel and wiped her face. In front of her was a ginger-haired boy—grinning much too creepily. He had an unfamiliar white uniform, meaning that he wasn't from Rikkaidai.

Akaya looked back, checking to see if this goofball wasn't grinning at someone else.

"Hi there! You're really cute!" The ginger said. Akaya was obviously annoyed with this… thing in front of her.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Ahaha, my name's Sengoku Kiyosumi! You know, you're really cute… I like you. Wanna go on a date?" He grinned goofily and said. "What's your name? I heard that there's a female regular in Rikkaidai… do you know who it is?"

"Nope." She just said, and turned around to leave. Sengoku caught up to her and blocked her path.

"Aw, if you can't answer me, then you can just go on a date with me!" He said, getting overly excited. Akaya's had enough problems for the day; she was stinking sick of men, including her father.

"No can do, puri~" Niou came up and slid his arm around Akaya. Akaya blinked, and looked up; Niou smiled at her. Her heart skipped a beat for a moment or two—

"You see, our Junior Ace isn't feeling well today, so… I would get going if you want your balls on the right part of your body."

"I didn't know you had a boyfriend! And _you're_ the rumored female regular?" Sengoku ignored Niou and asked Akaya. Akaya groaned; this guy was way too annoying.

"Well well I'm lucky! I get to date the rumored Rikkaidai female regul—UWAFGH" Sengoku groaned as Akaya's knee pinpointed right on his sensitive organ. Poor Sengoku. Wrong time at the wrong place, not to mention a wrong person. Not so lucky, eh?

"Let's go senpai." Akaya tugged on Niou who gave half-unconscious Sengoku a sympathetic look.

"Well it looks like you didn't need my help." Niou said, chuckling.

"True. Thanks anyways."

After the practice regulars gathered up and discussed Akaya's fate tomorrow.

"This is a biiiiiig problem." Jackal added also, making Akaya worry more.

"Well, we'll just have to… I don't know… Yanagi, do something!" Marui told Yanagi who was standing there like a log.

"Probability of her dad being serious about bringing her back to America: 100%."

"That's not very helpful…"

Silence. Akaya just sighed and dragged herself over to the changing room. The regulars watched her go—and sighed as well.

"I mean, it's not that we could force her to be in here after her dad being so mad…" Marui trailed off. "But we need her on the team too!"

"…If she has to go, then she has to go. End of discussion." Sanada said solemnly, crossing his arms. "Be at the school gate by ten o'clock in the morning tomorrow." He grabbed his bag, and started walking away.

"Sanada!" Desperate, Marui and Jackal called out.

"How could you be so damn calm? You're the fuku-buchou! She's a big part of our team, think of or say something helpful or at least worry!" Niou called out, offended by Sanada's cold demeanor.

"What her dad wants her to do is not my decision. If I can't help it, then what more can I do? I do wish for her best; if her dad wants her to become a pro, then she'll have to go." He said without looking back and continued to walk away; people just watched the fuku-buchou go until his figure disappeared over the school hedge.

Niou was the most frustrated one; even though he was an analyzer, he had no idea what Sanada thought that moment.

Niou, Marui, and Jackal waited for her at the gate; as she walked out, Marui called her.

"Akaya."

"Hey senpai-tachi." Akaya sighed and greeted, fully changed into her school uniform.

"Man, you're just always in trouble, aren't ya, kid?" Niou ruffled her hair and said, trying to cheer her up.

"Yeah…"

"Let's go eat! Eating will make you feel better."

Now they were sitting in their favorite café. Akaya let out a deep, long sigh. Now she had no choice but to go back to America or just attend that stupid invitational academy.

"…What are you going to do?" Niou asked, leaning on his hand.

"I don't know…" She sighed again. "I mean, either way he'd make me leave…"

"You can't go back!" He gasped. Akaya raised her eyebrows. "I-I mean, everyone would miss you. You do _not_ want to see Marui bawl his eyes out."

"Hey." Marui glared at Niou and Niou just gave him a look to go along. "I-I mean yeah. You don't want to see my bawl my eyes out."

Niou really wanted her here. _'It's not like I _need_ her or anything. Yeah. Just as a cute kouhai.'_

Or so he thought.

After splitting with Jackal and Marui half-way, with Niou taking Akaya home as usual, Niou was worried. Really, really worried. What if her dad really did drag her back to America?

"Senpai." Akaya called him; before they realized they were in front of Akaya's house.

"Oh. Well… I'll see you later, Akaya."

"Alright. Good night."

"You too."

After they bid farewell, Niou started walking, with another uncomfortable thought creeping up in his mind. _'What I'm doing looks like a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship…! Is she noticing these at all? What's wrong with me, getting worked up over th__is__ kind of things?' _He thought, disturbed by why he was caring so much about these kind of little things. Sure, he had girlfriends before, but none of them bothered him as much as Akaya did.

"I'm home." Akaya said unenthusiastically. She went straight into her room—then locked her door right away. She was going to block herself from her dad until tomorrow at least.

She took a quick shower; as she locked the door again, someone knocked on the door.

"Akaya?" It was her brother.

"What." She answered boringly.

"Open this for a second?"

"No. Dad's probably behind you."

Azuka flinched; she knew him very well.

"N-No he isn't." Azuya sweatdropped a little and answered.

"Well I don't feel like talking to anyone so good night." She turned off the light and plopped onto the bed.

Azuka and Azuya sighed; the girl was too scary to approach when she was angry.

"Dad, I think you should just let Akaya do what she wants. She's been really lively after she came to Japan." Azuya convinced him; he didn't say anything but plunged into a deep thought.

The next day, Akaya got up around 8 o'clock to quietly eat some breakfast and sneak out of the house. She walked down quietly but found her dad sitting on the couch, watching TV.

'_Crap. __Of all days…__' _Akaya cursed. Seeking no chance in sneaking around her dad, Akaya quietly walked back into her room. Then a light bulb appeared over her head and she snapped her fingers. She quietly opened her mini-balcony door; she remembered that she could jump down safely from that height. _'Hehehe, here's my escape route.'_

She got changed, took her bag, and went to the balcony. She quietly threw it down to the ground, and hopped down herself. Then she made a run for the gate and headed out to school.

'_Hehehe! Well this is thrilling!' _Akaya snickered as she jogged to school, afraid of her dad noticing anything and coming to chase her. She got to school pretty early—around 7:40. Boy, was she hungry; she went to the nearby shop and bought herself some sandwich and milk, thanking that she had her wallet on her.

She sat by the school gate and ate the sandwich. _'I feel miserable right now…' _She thought as she bit into her sandwich. She finished the meal in just ten minutes. It was 8; still no one. Of course not, it was still an hour away until the scheduled time. She felt really sleepy, so she buried her head into her knees and took a light nap despite the chilly morning air.

Niou walked to the school to buy some snacks before going to the tournament; on his way, however, he saw something unusual.

She was having a sweet little nap until someone shook her.

"Oi, Akaya!"

"H-Huh…?" She looked up, rubbing her eyes. There was Niou, with a sympathetic look, looking down at her. "Chi-su, Niou-senpai."

"Akaya, how early did you get here? What about your dad?" He asked, worried.

"Oh, I kinda sneaked out. I got here at 7:30 ish…" She yawned.

"Did you have breakfast?"

"Yeah, I bought a sandwich and a milk from the store." She rubbed her eyes. "I-It's cold…" She shivered.

Niou quickly took his jacket off and draped it over Akaya.

"No, it's okay."

"Just wear it, you idiot." Niou commanded; Akaya just pouted but wore the jacket, hogging the big sleeve to her face. It smelled nice. The jacket just smelled like shampoo. Niou sat down next to her.

"We have about 40 more minutes. Get some rest."

"Okay…"

Akaya slowly drifted into sleep again, slumping onto Niou's shoulders.


	22. What She Means to Them

Lucifer of Rikkaidai

Chapter 22: What She Means to Them

Akaya felt really warm and comfortable. And something smelled really good. Meanwhile, Niou's heart was uncontrollably racing; as Akaya snuggled up to Niou for warmth, the area her head rested heated up. He put his arm around her and scooted her closer; she stopped shivering and he gently stroked her hair to find her face relieve from frowns.

'_What's wrong with me…?'_He looked at Akaya and thought. It was true that she was a nice, fun kid. Not too bad-looking either. A lot of guys in the school liked her; in fact, she was pretty cu—

"Niou?" Sanada and Yanagi called him as they first showed up; a look of surprise and puzzlement filled their faces as they watched the two in an unusually cozy position.

"Ah—Shhhh" After freaking out a little, he put his index finger to his lips. He blushed faintly as he noticed the two eyeing the arm Niou put around her shoulders. "Wait, it's not what you think it is." He sweated and said quickly before they would start making far-fetched assumptions.

"What happened? You're both here really early. There was a 60% chance of Akaya running 2 minutes late today." Yanagi asked.

"Well… I walked past at 8 ish and Akaya was waiting right here. She said that she snuck out of her house at way earlier." Niou gave Akaya a pitiful look and said. She slept like there was no tomorrow and looked helpless especially with the big jacket Niou put around her.

"Snuck out?"

"Yeah. She told me that her dad was up, so… She just snuck out and bought breakfast outside."

"What did she have for breakfast then?"

"I don't know…"

Sanada sighed; he knew that her dad would be a problem and that Akaya would do anything to show up to the games, but he wished that she didn't push _too_ hard.

"Let her sleep until we get there. She can sleep on the bus." Sanada said, putting his jacket on her also. As members began arriving one by one, they all asked what had happened, and worried for the girl.

"Alright. Our bus is here." Sanada said, after spotting their school bus. Niou carefully lifted her in his arms and carried her into the bus slowly so that she wouldn't wake up.

"That rascal." Marui grinned impishly while Yanagi busily began calculating in his head about Niou's more-than-a-mere-teammate-and-kouhai feelings towards Akaya.

They sat on a bus, and Akaya continued to sleep on Niou's shoulders, not knowing what in the world was going on.

"Genichirou." Yanagi quietly called him as the bus came to a stop.

"Yes?"

"Do you have anything in mind?"

"…About what." He turned back to the window and gazed out to the street view.

"You know well what I'm talking about."

"…" Sanada kept quiet. "I don't know."

"Unnn…" Akaya rubbed her face on something warm as she was greeted by a ray of sunshine. It was bright; when she looked up from the cozy material, she saw someone's face which she couldn't tell quite well due to the brightness.

"Huh…?"

"Oh, you're awake." Niou looked at her. "Good morning, kid."

"Where…?" She sat upright and looked around. "The match!"

"Don't worry, we're in the bus. We're on our way to the park."

"Oh…" Akaya sighed. "How long was I asleep?"

"It's been about an hour."

"That long!" Akaya exclaimed. "Sorry Niou-senpai."

"That's alright." He patted her head and said. "Just win the all games today."

"Okay." Akaya said. Then she hung her head; that game, that tournament was the last tournament she'd ever play with her team. She stayed silent the entire bus ride. She'd usually be the loudest one along with Marui, either bickering or playing games, but for that time, Akaya was the most quiet one.

They got off the bus, worrying about Akaya. In that condition, Akaya won't be able to play well.

"Akaya." Sanada, not able to take it, called her.

"Yeah?"

"Being bothered about it won't work. Give it your best rather than be disappointed."

"…I'll try." She replied. They walked into the park altogether; of course, Akaya did receive some more marveled/surprised looks from people in the new city, Tokyo.

"Rikkai…! I heard they're particularly strong this year!" People mumbled.

"That girl's tiny though! You sure she's the female regular?"

"Curly black hair… that must be her. There's a rumor that she goes into a Red Eye Mode and that she's really strong."

Sanada registered for the team and walked back. "Now here's the ladder: Singles 3 Akaya, singles 2 Niou, singles 1 me. Doubles 1 Yagyuu-Yanagi, doubles 2 Jackal-Marui."

"Let's put our best into today's game." He said as the team huddled.

"Always win, Rikkaidai!"

The team moved into the first court. They didn't even know the name of the school they were playing until the referee announced it. Besides, they forgot it even if they did hear it.

Doubles 1 and doubles 2 played first; of course, it ended easily with straight games and straight sets. It was Akaya's turn.

Before she realized, she was at the baseline. She was worrying and asking herself if that day really was her last day.

"Ah—!" She yelped as the ball grazed past her, giving a service ace point for the opponent. For the next few points she either double faulted or completely drove the ball into the net.

"Is she even any good?" People started murmuring, doubting her skills.

"Maybe she's not all that." The opponent team snickered.

"Arara, kiddo's not doing well…" Marui bit his lips and frowned.

"And she can't go into her red eye mode since she's not focused at all." Yanagi said.

Sanada suddenly stood up from the coach bench and left the court. "Akaya, keep on playing," was all he said.

She did, but it was easier said than done; when she was losing with a score of 0-4, feeling curious she looked around to find Sanada. Off to the outside, she saw them—her dad and Sanada.

"You were…" Akaya's dad raised his eyebrows and pondered.

"I am the fuku-buchou, Sanada Genichirou." He politely introduced himself again and bowed. "Regarding Akaya's matters…"

"She will go to England, or come back to America with me." He stated firmly. "I'm going back to America today due to some urgent business. And if she's going to waste her time here, she's coming back with me."

"Yes. I am aware." Sanada nodded. "But I do not think Akaya's wasting time."

"And why's that?"

"As a senpai, a friend, and a fuku-buchou, I know that we need her and that she needs us. She's the brightest when she plays tennis." He said. "We need her; without us knowing, she became the cornerstone of our team."

Azuka kept silent and listened to Sanada.

"Let me show you one thing; if you still insist after that, I will not try to hold you up any longer."

He didn't respond, which Sanada assumed as a silent approval to let him "show" something.

"AKAYA!" Sanada yelled, catching the girl's attention as the score was love-40. "YOUR FATHER SAID THAT YOU CAN STAY!"

"W-Wai—"

Akaya gaped and looked at him for a second. Then she broke into a huge grin that Azuka has never seen before. "THANKS FUKU-BUCHOU!" She yelled, and got into a ready position, eyes speaking something completely different from the last 4 games. 15-40, 30-40, deuce, advantage-in, then game; then 15-love, 30-love, 40-love, then game; it repeated over and over as if Akaya knew her way around the game.

She won all her points effortlessly and the opponent couldn't do anything but run around, chasing the ball that he could barely reach.

"6-4! Game and match, Kirihara Akaya!" The referee announced, and the entire team broke into a cheer after a few seconds of silence. Marui first ran to the court and tackled Akaya into a bear hug, Niou ruffled her hair, and Yanagi patted her back.

Azuka was, no doubt, surprised; not only did he see that her tennis had improved so much after he last saw her, and that she had a brightest smile that he had never seen before.

Azuka just gaped and stared at his daughter; Akaya immediately ran outside of the courts and towards Sanada and her dad.

"DAAAADDD!" She yelled. "THANK YOU SO MUCH! I KNEW YOU'D UNDERSTAND!" She tackled him into a hug and buried her face onto his chest.

"Akaya. I didn't say anything. This guy over here just made up stuff." He said, pointing at Sanada; Akaya looked up with a dreaded face.

"Then..."

"But I changed my mind. You have a great fuku-buchou, Akaya. Perhaps I'd like to see your buchou also when I get the chance. Wish him my best luck in getting through the surgery."

"So…!"

"You can stay. Thank your fuku-buchou." Azuka smiled. Akaya's face brightened up, and she turned back to thank Sanada.

"Thank you fuku-buchou! Thanks dad!" She bowed and said; by then everyone came over and thanked her dad.

"I'll see you later, honey. See you at home."

"Alright. Bye dad!" Akaya waved until he disappeared over the tennis court fences. She immediately turned to Sanada, startling him a little. Then she squeezed him as hardest she could, burying her face into his chest.

"Thank you so much, fuku-buchou…!" She mumbled. Sanada looked away in embarrassment; they were getting more and more attention. Although his face turned slightly pink, he did the courtesy of patting her head and awkwardly hugging her back with his other hand.

"Let's go wrap this up." He said, and everyone returned to the courts.

"Thank you for a good game!" They all bowed and shouted. Akaya happily skipped back towards the bench, packed, and left until she remembered something. She saw the other team walk away; she hollered out:

"What did you say before? "Not all that" and "is she any good?"" Akaya yelled, cupping her mouth. "WELL SUCK ON THAT LOSERS! HAHAHA!"

At this Sanada groaned, Niou, Marui, and Jackal snickered, and Yanagi and Yagyuu just smiled, giving up at trying to contain Akaya.

"Ahh that was nice." Akaya sighed and said.

They walked away from the tennis court.

"Do we still have time?" Sanada asked Yanagi.

"Aah. It should be towards end of singles 2 now." He said, checking his cellphone.

"Let's go then. You guys could stay if you want, but Akaya needs to come."

"Oh cool. Then I might fetch some snacks." Marui said. "Come with me, Jackal."

"Where are we going?" Akaya asked the two.

"A match between Tezuka and Atobe. Those two schools unfortunately ended up playing against each other in the first round." Yanagi answered. "I felt that you especially, Akaya, would need to see it."

"Yay! Sounds fun! I hope Tezuka-san wins 'cuz that monkey diva was a dick!" She laughed nonchalantly.

"I'll do my homework then." Yagyuu said, following Marui and Jackal.

"I'll go with them." Niou followed the three, partly because he needed to observe Tezuka, and partly it was due to him feeling uncomfortable sending Akaya with Sanada. Not that he was jealous after seeing her give him a hug. Not that he was going to do anything, but just to… to… hm.

"Niou-senpai, are you coming or not?" Akaya called as Niou fell behind. "We're going to miss it!"

"I'm going, I'm going."


	23. Get the xxxx Off

Lucifer of Rikkaidai

Chapter 23: Get the xxxx Off

The four walked towards the court in which Hyotei and Seigaku were playing each other. By then, Akaya had nothing to worry about; she didn't have to worry about her dad taking her back or forcing her to go to England.

"Fuku-buchou, who do you think is going to win?" She asked, trailing behind Sanada like a puppy.

"…In terms of pure skill, I would say Tezuka, but Atobe is quite the player also."

"The probability of Tezuka winning is 60%." Yanagi said.

"60… not as high as I imagined it to be." She blinked and replied.

"That's how good Atobe is also."

"Ah."

As they walked, dressed in their mustard yellow jerseys, everyone stopped to look at the four. Of course; Rikkaidai was the most prestigious, strongest team so far. Everyone remembered them as the ones in yellow and black.

They finally reached the courts.

"Good, they just ended singles 2."

They walked over to just right outside of the fence; Akaya spotted the monkey diva, the mushroom douchebag, and some other irrelevant teammates of the two. She also spotted the green-haired boy she ran into the at Seigaku and on the street tennis courts.

"Heh~ So he _was_ Seigaku's Echizen Ryoma." She examined him in curiosity.

"Hey Echizen! She's checking you out!" Momoshiro nudged him by the shoulders and suggested.

"Shut up, Momo-senpai." He groaned and said.

"Look, even Rikkaidai came to watch the match!" People mumbled as they noticed the yellow jerseys outside the fence. The overwhelming size of Hyotei's cheer unit hushed down just to admire Rikkaidai's presence.

"Are they all looking at us?" Akaya blinked and asked and Niou merely nodded.

"Is she the female regular? Dang, so the rumor was true!"

"I heard Rikkai's looking promising especially this year."

While people were busy talking about them, Atobe was thinking: _'Hou… it's the bratty girl from last time.' _He rubbed his chin in interest and curiosity. _'Cheeky, just how I like it.'_He smirked.

"AAAHHH!" Someone yelled across the court; when Akaya turned around, the ginger-haired pervert was running towards her.

"HI~!" He said a bit too enthusiastically as he grabbed Akaya's hand. "Man, I'm so glad I met you again! It must be fate!" He exclaimed, laughing goofily.

Niou felt his stomach churn. And he was getting pissed off.

"Hey, hey wanna try dating?" He asked.

"What the hell?" Akaya yelped and frowned.

"Aw come on, it's not like you have a boyfriend at the moment! I like you, so let's go out!"

"No she won't." Niou cut off and pulled Akaya behind his back, stepping in between the two. "Sorry, could you not bother our lovely junior?" He said, smiling. Sanada and Yanagi were both giving death glares to the poor ginger. Feeling awkward and intimidated, Sengoku gulped and put up his hands in a defensive motion.

"Alright alright~" He said, smiling smugly. "Then I'll be on my way~" He hurried away back to where his teammates were.

"He's so annoying!" Akaya exclaimed. "He probably does that to every single girl he meets!"

"Probably."

"From what I know, his success rate in actually getting a girl is 30%."

"Pffft—" Akaya and Niou both stifled a laugh.

"AHAHAHAHA!" They laughed out loud.

"It's getting started." Sanada said, and the two quieted down, still snickering a little.

Atobe walked onto the courts; as he looked back towards where the four were at, he winked slightly at Akaya. Niou definitely did _not_ appreciate that. As egotistical he was, he did have the merit to back up and justify that ego. He was good looking, smart, rich, and skilled in tennis.

"Bleeeccchhhh…" Akaya pretended to puke, which relieved Niou a little.

"Why, he's really popular in his school. He even has his fanclubs in our district too."

"What! Seriously? Who would ever wanna be a fan of that monkey dickhead?" Akaya exclaimed.

"What do you think of him? I mean, he's not that bad looking." Niou asked, curiously about her answer. Akaya immediately made an "ew" face saying "is that even a question" and Niou chuckled. "I can tell just by your expression."

"Exactly."

With this Niou was a little settled. Man, he wasn't himself these days. Directing attention back to the match, Akaya noticed people chanting for Atobe. And it continued for 2 minutes.

"Winner is Atobe! Winner is Atobe! Loser is Tezuka!" People kept on chanting.

Akaya and Niou frowned, staring at Atobe.

Then Atobe snapped his fingers, and everyone stopped.

"The Winner is… me!" He shouted, pointing at the sky with his index finger and throwing away his jacket that was supposedly "cooly" resting on his shoulder.

"What… the… _fuck._" Akaya mumbled away the last part. "Not only is he a monkey diva, but also a narcissist attention-deprived drama king?" Akaya gaped.

"…That's… something." Niou replied, gaping also.

So the match started; an intense rally began right off the bat. Akaya's eyes were set on Tezuka; in her eyes, he looked cool. He was amazing at tennis. A player she must play one day to get stronger.

'_Wow…! He's so good!'_ She marveled inside, thinking of Tezuka. Niou noticed her looking at Tezuka a bit too closely to call it as an "observation."

'_Why's she staring at him for?'_ He contemplated inside.

Back at the last match, he felt his heart skip a beat a little as he saw Akaya play and come back from a score of 0-4. He had to admit, she did look the brightest on the courts.

"Akaya, which one do you like more, Tezuka or Atobe?" Niou asked.

"Of course, Tezuka-san!" She exclaimed as a matter-of-fact. "He's hot!"

Niou felt his heart sink a bit at that.

"Well anyways, the last person I'd want to see on earth is that monkey." She stated, and glued her eyes back to Tezuka.

'_So she thinks Tezuka is hot…' _Niou pondered. _'Well… even in my eyes he's really cool. Dammit.'_

The intense match continued, and something was weird with Tezuka's expression. Akaya carefully studied his posture, and figured out that something was wrong with his shoulder.

Then Tezuka cried out clenching his left shoulder in agony, dropping his racquet.

"Oh no!" Akaya gasped; after a few minutes they continued the match. Atobe challenged Tezuka's endurance.

"What a dirty play." Akaya mumbled. In the end—Tezuka lost.

"Man, that was a close match. If it weren't for his shoulder he would have won…" She said.

"Hn. Too soft, Tezuka." Sanada said also. "Let's go, it's almost time for our next match." The four stood up and left.

"Oi, Kirihara!" Atobe yelled across the fence. Akaya flinched and her eyebrows twitched in annoyance.

"WHAT!" She turned around and yelled at him. He walked out of the court, catching attention from his fanclub, team, and cheer members.

"Hou…" He put on an amused look. "So, what do you say. Did you fall for me?"

"…" Akaya made the most ridiculous what-the-fuck face ever. She couldn't retort because she was just too outraged.

"It'd be nice if you'd stop harassing my junior." Sanada said, glaring at Atobe. He didn't like him too much either.

"It has nothing to do with you Sanada. Or are you interested in her too, aahn~?"

"N—"

"Alright, that's it!" Akaya yelled. "Get the fuck off, you monkey dickhead attention-deprived narcissist!" She pointed at him and shouted. "You won that game because Tezuka-san was hurt! Go hit on someone else that would appreciate you, like those girls hanging around right there! You narcissist diva monkey king! Let's go, senpai-tachi!" She grabbed the three and stomped away from the scene.

"W-What a girl…" Oishi trailed off, laughing nervously.

"Ku… kuhuhu…" Oshitari was holding his laugh in along with Mukahi. From Seigaku's side, Momoshiro and Kikumaru were holding into their laughs also. Tezuka fixed his glasses; his lips were very slightly curled.

"Wahahahhaa!" Mukahi, Momoshiro, and Kikumaru were the first ones to burst out laughing; Atobe flushed slightly.

"Shut up, Oshitari." He said, trying to gain his cool.

"S-Sorry, but it's too funny." He said, fixing his glasses. "I think she genuinely hates you."

"Che. That makes it more challenging."

"Don't bet on it."

"I'll do anything I please."

"As you say, your majesty." He said with a slight sense of sarcasm.

"That was a nice one." Niou said, laughing himself.

"Yes. Good job." Sanada said also.

"Whaaat~ Sanada fuku-buchou's praising me!" Akaya exclaimed.

"I just think he deserved it. And his reaction was quite amusing also."

"Hehehe. But… I bet his fan club hates me now." Akaya said, nonchalantly.

"That's a problem… his fan club's pretty big. It's pretty much the entire school plus some people in other district."

"Whatever." Akaya scoffed. "I'll just pull what I did last time… hehehe…"

"That's our girl." Niou chuckled.

The four headed to their next court immediately, which just ended in less than an half an hour, setting the record as the shortest match ever played during Kantou tournament. Gladly, Akaya was able to play and win without going into her Red Eye mode as well as with her weights on.

The team confidently walked out the tennis park towards their bus;

"Rikkaidai…!" People around marveled.

"They're strong as ever!"


	24. Red Eye Mode

Lucifer of Rikkaidai

Chapter 24: Red Eye Mode

"_Ha-hahaha…!" A cackle rang out—Akaya was surrounded by black void__. Ss__he was afraid—__she was __unaware of her surroundings. "You think you can act like an angel forever? You're a devil inside, dear. You can't hide from me."_

"_Wha…!" Akaya gapped, taken aback at what the voice said._

"_Just give in~ __y__ou can't keep up being a goody angel on the courts. You need to hurt people; make them dye in red."_

"_SHUT UP!" Akaya blocked her ears._

"_You can't escape me… face me, kid. Face me, and accept who you are."_

"NO!" She woke up, screaming; sweat trickled down her face and her eyes were unfocused in the dark.

"Akaya!" Her brother came in, freaking out from the yelp that woke him up in the middle of the night. He grabbed her by the shoulders and looked straight into her eyes—they were unfocused. "Akaya, what's wrong?" He wiped the sweat off from her forehead and asked her.

"I-I…" She opened her mouth. "I-I had a nightmare…" She hugged her brother and comforted herself in his arms.

"Sh… it's okay, it's okay." Azuya calmed her down; she fell asleep in his arms quickly.

The next morning she woke up with a slight headache. It was good that Rikkaidai had to play only one round since one of their rounds was a BYE.

She was thinking of the dream that night—

'_Accept me as who I am…? Hurt people…?' _She clenched her fists, still lying down on the bed. _'Fine. If I need to __be__ violent to win, so it__ will__ be.'_

She kicked off the blanket and went down to eat. She ate quietly—her brother didn't ask her about the nightmare she had (which she was slightly thankful for not making her parents worry).

She changed, washed, and headed to Rikkaidai again. By the time she snapped out of many conflicting thoughts, she could spot half of the team by the school gate.

"Good morning senpai-tachi!" She greeted.

"Morning."

"You don't seem well. Have you slept yesterday?" Jackal asked, noticing the bags under her eyes.

"O-Oh. Yeah. I kinda talked with my brother til' late last night." She smugly scratched her head and said.

"Are you going to be fine during the matches?" Sanada asked.

"Of course, fuku-buchou~" She grinned, assuring that everything was fine.

After a while, the remaining team members came one by one. They hopped on the bus, and headed to the same destination as the day before.

"Our first school is Fudoumine."

"Fudoumine?" Marui raised his eyebrows. "Isn't that the school with a hella corrupt tennis team? I thought it was disbanded."

"I thought so too." Yanagi said. "They kept a pretty low profile. It's likely that someone new started from the scratch."

"Well we just have to beat them, right?" Akaya said. "Come on, let's go beat them!" She eagerly said.

She and her team entered the court area and put their bags down by the bleachers.

"So that guy's the buchou." She mumbled as she saw a guy with some sort of a Buddha-dot on his forehead, talking to the team gathered in a circle.

"Hold on, that guy…!" Yanagi's eyebrows frowned. "I've seen him before… Genichirou, do you remember?"

"He seems familiar, yes… But I can't bring about the exact details. I'm sure it'll come to us later. But for now, let's focus on winning." Sanada said, and walked to the team, gathering them in a circle. "Today, it starts off with singles 3, singles 2, then doubles 2, doubles 1, then singles 1."

"That's a confusing order."

"Sort of. It's arranged for strategies. Are we going to stack players? Or not show our aces until the very end?" Yanagi inquired. "We're going to stack and win fast. No purpose for us to stall time."

"That's true."

"Always win,"

"Rikkaidai!"

They hollered their team chant and the singles 3 player, Jackal, went in. As soon as it started, Jackal pushed hard, making the opponent lose his breath.

"As expected of a man with two hearts." Niou whistled and said.

"Next, singles 2!" The referee hollered; Akaya quietly grabbed her racket and walked onto the court towards the net.

"…" She quietly stood there, looking at her racket. _'Am I really going to do it? Am I?' _She contemplated. _'Shut up, what are you thinking, Kirihara Akaya. Stop wavering…!__ 3__rd __ consecutive victory. Do it for buchou.__'_

"Hello." When she snapped out the man with a buddha-dot was in front of her. "I'm Tachibana Kippei."

"So that's who he was…!" Yanagi snapped his fingers.

"Who is he?"

"He's the strongest player in Kyushu." He stated. "He was known as the best in Kyusyu but for some reason he just disappeared couple months ago."

"And he's back here."

Yanagi nodded. "It seems that he's having a fresh new start. He used to have blonde hair like a lion."

"Hi." She curtly answered with a straight face. They shook hands and she quietly walked away without another word.

'_Huh, what a cold girl.' _Tachibana thought.

"Akaya, he's one of the strongest players in Kyushu." Sanada said. "Don't let your guard down, and try to end this match here, fast."

"Got it." She said and walked onto the court. She stood on the baseline and stared at her right hand which was grabbing onto the racket.

"Something seems off about Akaya." Niou frowned a little.

"You think so too." Yanagi said. "She's been a little gloomy since last night. I thought her condition was getting better since she didn't enter the Red Eye Mode for quite a wh—"

"Kirihara's in the Red Eye Mode!" Someone shouted; surprised, all her teammates shot back at her, and indeed—her eyes were crimson red.

"Wh-what the…!"

"Already!?"

Akaya, without hesitating, served. It was good that she was serving, not at the net and hurling the ball at someone—but the bad part was that she used her knuckle serve.

"I'll dye you in red!"

She kept aiming and aiming at his ankle, making him run towards the side which would exacerbate the pain on his ankle.

'_That's it…! That's it! More, more, more!' _The voice inside her head shouted more and more. She let it take over without much resistance for the first time—and the outcome was much dreadful than any other time.

Rikkaidai team members quietly watched—but they were just as shocked inside.

Fudoumine team, of course, watched in horror as well; their captain was one of the strongest in Kyushu, but he was helplessly getting beaten over and over again by a girl.

Niou—who pretty much became the person to care about Akaya the most (probably)—was in shock. _'Why is she like this? She's never like this…! She doesn't have to go this far, what's she doing?'_

The match ended, 6-0, in less than 13 minutes.

"Strongest in Kyushu? Che, I at least expected some challenge." Akaya scoffed and left to put away her racket. She came back and noticed the gloomy, dreaded atmosphere her senpai-tachi had. She tried her best to not break down and ignore—and she felt glad that she did.

Tachibana was sent to the hospital for treatment right after her and his match; all the people watching traced the ambulance in horror and all turned to look at the girl.

'_Ignore it… ignore it… you knew this was going to happen…'_

After they won the entire match with a score of 3-0, Akaya calmly put her things away, acting as though nothing's happened.

"Akaya… are you feeling alright?" Yanagi asked.

"Hm? Yeah of course." She replied casually. "I'm getting stronger with it, aren't I? Now no one stands a chance against me in nationals."

"Well, in that sense, yes." Yanagi said, patting her head and smiling in defeat. "But do tell me if anything feels wrong, we'll figure something out."

"It's totally fine, don't worry~" She waved her hands and said.

"Well then, since we finished our match, shall we go eat?" Yanagi asked everyone.

"Actually, my mom expected me to come home for dinner today so I'll have to pass this time."

So with that excuse she trudged the entire way home alone, looking down at the ground. The scene—Tachibana's face in pain, his ankle, people watching—passed by and she couldn't shake it off. Tears brimmed around her eyes. She stopped, wiped her eyes, clenched her fists, and continued walking.


	25. Falling Apart

Lucifer of Rikkaidai

Chapter 25: Falling Apart

"I'm home."

"Welcome back! We're having Korean barbeque today!" Her mom greeted from the kitchen.

"YAY!" Akaya exclaimed, running over to the dinner table. It'd be troublesome to make her mom and brother worry.

"So how was the match today?"

Akaya's hands paused a bit. She then just continued eating, and answered. "It was good, we won everything. The final round is in two days."

"You guys are always winning, aren't you?" Azuya said, laughing.

"Well, we _are _number one in the nation." Akaya laughed also.

"Well, I'm just amazed that you're keeping up with those amazing players in your team!" Her mom said, smiling. "I'm happy to see that you've improved so much. Dad was surprised too."

"Hehe…"

After dinner Akaya took a shower and threw herself onto the bed, staring at her old racket which was signed by her idol, Pete Sampras.

"Haaa…" She sighed; although she didn't sense anything too weird about the way her teammates treated her after the match, what are they going to think of her now? Can they get along just like before?

She was scared—scared that what happened just few hours ago might completely ruin her relationship with the regulars. Although they didn't act any differently, Akaya didn't fail to notice the looks they had while she was playing.

* * *

><p>"So, what do you think?" Yanagi asked everyone as they ate dinner together. It was their first time gathering as a team without Akaya.<p>

"You guys realized that she's being really weird, right?" Niou first said. "She's showing all the habits when she's lying or nervous."

"I have noticed as well." Yanagi said.

"Yeah, she's definitely not the usual Akaya." Marui commented and everyone nodded.

"Do you think it might have to do with the Red Eye Mode?"

"It is likely." Yanagi said. "I can't imagine anything else that would bother her this much."

"…She went overboard today." Sanada said. They all silently agreed. "I'll talk to her during practice tomorrow."

During the morning practice, Akaya was rallying with Marui. She was glad that it was a morning practice for only the regulars. It was hard enough feeling the unusual silence between her and the regulars.

"Akaya, I need to talk to you." Sanada said after talking to Yanagi. Akaya stopped rallying and walked over to him without a single trace of confusion on her face, as if she'd anticipated everything.

He sighed before he began. "I need to know what's going on." He said, taking his hat off. That meant something big; if Sanada Genichirou took off a hat after a sigh—he was really frustrated.

"What do you mean, what's going on." She asked, trying to feign ignorance.

"You know what I'm talking ab—"

"You're attitude and performance on the court." Yanagi said, trying to prevent Sanada from bursting out in anger. "You're not acting normally these days."

"We're worried about you." Sanada said rather calmly. "So we want to know what's troubling you so much and why you had to resort to such actions yesterday."

"Nothing's troubling me." She answered simply.

"Aka—"

"And plus, senpai-tachi told me that it's powerful. So why are you going against it so much?" She frowned a bit and asked.

"We just don't want you acting like yesterday all the time." Yanagi said.

"That's right. You should stop using the Red Eye Mode."

At that, Akaya snapped. It's not like she used it entirely because she _wanted _to—it was the only way she could win against other strong players, especially since they were approaching nationals and her opponents got stronger each round. It would be too late for her to start developing a new tennis style from scratch.

They spoke as if it was so easy for her to control the Red Eye Mode, and it pissed her off because she was the one that was struggling with it the most. After a long hesitation she decided to accept it for the team, for their 3rd consecutive victory, and now they were unhappy with her even though they said it was fine in the first place.

"So now you're unhappy with my tennis style?" Akaya raised her voice and said. The regulars were now all watching the three argue. They never saw Akaya raise a voice against Sanada or Yanagi. The tension grew stronger between the three and they all felt like they were walking on thin ice.

"We're just asking if you could change it to something else." Yanagi said.

"You're telling me to throw it away?!"

"It certainly took a turn for the worse." Sanada said. "If that's the method you are going to resort to in order to win every time, then we'd rather not have you win."

Akaya after she realized what he was saying, blew up and spat out everything that was on her mind without giving much thought.

"Rather not have me win!? Why the fuck did you tell me to use it in the first place then?! I went through all that fucking trouble because you were the ones who wantedme to keep using this! To win!" She shouted, cursing every now and then.

"Akaya, calm down—" Yanagi, who was a bit taken aback by her demeanor, tried to calm her down. He had never seen her get this angry before, nor did anyone else. The other regulars were all just watching, unable to decide what they should do to stop this from happening. The team was falling apart.

"No, listen to me! I'm just trying so that we can get our 3rd consecutive win. You are the ones who are always so goddamn obsessed about winning and won't accept losing! I'm just trying to win, like you want me to. What more do you want from me?!"

_Slap_

Akaya felt her cheek sting and burn. Sanada had slapped her. It was the second time ever for Sanada to slap Akaya. All the regulars all stared at Sanada in horror and shock.

"…You're off the team." He said coldly. "Your attitude will only bring the team down."

"Sanada!" The rest of the team gasped.

"Genichirou, hold on." Yanagi intervened. "Our final is this week. It's not the right time, and you're being too extreme."

"…" Sanada just stared down at the girl.

"You're not coming to Nationals with us." He said, grabbed his bag, and stormed out of the courts angrily.

Akaya just stood there, not even caring about her cheek, and clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. She grabbed her bag too and walked out of the courts.

During class—

Everything and everyone seemed to be glancing at her. She hated that feeling—that feeling of being watched and feared.

"Akaya?" Her friends walked up to her.

"Yeah?"

"Um… about… the thing… yesterday? At the match?"

"We were worried about you. What happened?"

"Everyone's talking about the guy that got hospitalized."

"I just did what I could to win, that's all." She said. "Don't worry."

"But Akaya, he got _hospitalized!" _

"…I know."

"Then…"

"I'm just, haa… I don't know. Guys, I really don't want to talk about it. Sorry." She said. She didn't want to talk about it, especially because of what happened in the morning.

They all looked at each other and decided to leave her alone, and returned to their seats. Akaya was still hearing the murmurs and gossips; she took out her earphones and started to listen to music, in hope to get rid of the noise that pestered her constantly.

During lunch, Yanagi and Sanada went to the rooftop to talk.

"Genichirou. You were harsh today." Yanagi began. "You didn't have to slap her. And you know she's sacrificed many things just to go to Nationals with us."

"How is it harsh? You know what she's done. At least she should show a feeling of remorse. She's not showing any remorse or whatsoever for her actions. Our team doesn't need that kind of mindset."

"Maybe there's something that we don't know. That no one, not even her family knows. You know her better than you know any girl, Genichirou. She's compassionate and sweet. There's no way a person could change like that in a day."

"Well what can we do? She doesn't want to change her play style."

"We just have to talk to her and figure out what she's thinking."

Akaya wanted to get a fresh breeze—

'_Maybe I'll go to the rooftop; no one's there.'_

"Maybe she really isn't sorry. She's all obsessed with winning."

"You've seen it too—she's troubled. She's so troubled right now she's trying to lock herself in. And it's probably because we're in the habit of saying 'Rikkaidai's 3rd consecutive victory.'"

"That's not an excuse for her action at the match." He raised his voice. "She is no longer of use for our 3rd victory."

Then the two heard a noisy can sound—when they turned around to the door they spotted Akaya who dropped a can of drink she was holding.

She immediately turned away and dashed downstairs.

"Akaya—" Yanagi ran towards and called Akaya, whose distorted face told thousands of emotions. She dashed down, like that, running away from Yanagi.

Her gaze, especially, was directed at Sanada, whom she trusted the most in the group. He was her second father, and she'd always go talk to him when she wanted to consult something. And he was always strict but gentle.

Her eyes were filled with disappointment, sadness, dejection, and Sanada was able to tell.

"Dammit!" Yanagi cursed. "Genichirou! Look what you've done!" Seriously angry at the comment he made, Yanagi yelled.

"She should've expected this to happen! Who on earth would welcome her playstyle?! And even if she's having troubles, she should handle her problems herself!"

"She's a _GIRL, _Genichirou, for god's sake!"

Sanada's heart sank at Yanagi's remark.

"Before being a Junior Ace and a regular for Rikkaidai's team, she's a girl!" He reasoned, his eyes fully open. "Do you realize how much pressure we're putting her under?"

"…" He couldn't retort. It was true; she was a girl, a second year at that. She was still young and inexperienced and she needed guides. And she was sentimental, and not only that she had the pressure to do well among the boys as an only girl.

She gave up an becoming a pro in a prestigious environment to stay with her team, gave up going back to America (although it was forced), gave up leisure time with female friends to catch up to girl things, gave up sleep to train, and mostly gave up her life as a teenage girl, just to play tennis alongside her teammates.

He didn't realize; somehow and sometime without anyone knowing, she slowly grew as the most important player in the team. And that weight, she carried all by herself.

"She's just trying to bear the burden all by herself! That's why she's resorting to Red Eye mode that would inevitably increase her chance of winning amongst the boys!"

"…I…"

"Sanada Genichirou. You have made a grave mistake today, and I'm telling you, you will go talk to her after school."

"But what if she doesn't come?"

"She will."

"…Right." He understood. Akaya was responsible. No matter what she'd come to the practice, especially with finals drawing near.

Meanwhile, Akaya ran downstairs then outside and behind the school building. She slid down the wall, helplessly falling onto the ground.

'_It's okay, Akaya… It's okay. You expected this…!' _She buried her head into her arms and kept on shouting to herself. But her heart told her—it wasn't okay.


	26. Because We're A Team

Lucifer of Rikkaidai

Chapter 26: Because We're A Team

After school, Akaya didn't go to the practice. Not after _that _she couldn't.

'_I think I need to go talk to Yukimura-buchou.'_ She thought as she got changed in the locker room after practice. Yukimura was her place of catharsis; he was the most sentimental and understanding out of the whole group, and his rather feminine side made Akaya comfortable around him.

She headed over to the hospital, which was to the opposite side of her house. She walked down the corridor to Yukimura's room.

"Hey, isn't that… Kirihara?!" Momoshiro, who happened to be visiting Tachibana with Fuji, Kikumaru and Echizen, noticed her as she passed by outside their room.

"Kirihara? Here?"

"What's she doing here?"

"Let's go follow her." Momoshiro said, and Kikumaru dragged Echizen along as well to stalk her.

Akaya hesitated a bit before revealing herself to him. She breathed in and walked in front of the door opening.

"Akaya?" Yukimura, who was reading a book on his bead, noticed her standing by the doorway. "Akaya! What are you doing here?"

Akaya tried to hold in her tears that escaped uncontrollably after seeing Yukimura's face, but it failed as the tears brimmed around her eyes rolled down, one by one. Yukimura panicked after seeing tears on the kouhai's face. Akaya ran over to him and jumped into his arms, burying her face into his chest and sobbing.

Yukimura was surprised, scared, and worried—he stretched out his hand and gave her a warm hug. Akaya hugged him and continued sobbing.

"Oi, this is bad… I feel like we shouldn't watch this…!" Kikumaru said, peeking a bit.

"L-Let's go back." Momoshiro said, and the three headed back to Tachibana's room.

Sanada lied down on his bed, thinking about what to do with this troublemaker of the team. Then he suddenly got a phone call. It was Yukimura.

"Hello?"

"_Sanada, did anything happen to Akaya?"_

"How did you…!"

"_So something did. She came over today and__ cried for a good while and told me that she just saw a sad movie. I'm pretty sure it wasn't because of a sad movie, though. Care to tell me what happened__?"_

Sanada began with a sigh; then he started explaining.

"_YOU SLAPPED HER? AND ON TOP OF THAT CALLED HER __USELESS?__!" _His voice rose. Sanada didn't see Yukimura get mad very often; in fact, he was one of the most peaceful guys he knew. He rarely yelled or yet alone raised his voice. But this time—he was really, _really_ mad.

"Y-Yes."

"_Haa… this is a very serious problem…" _Yukimura trailed off, also troubled. _"But I'm sure Akaya has a reason to why she's acting this way. You know she's a smart girl."_

"Yes, but no one has any idea because she's keeping it all to herself. It's getting more suspicious because she refuses to let us know. She's locking herself in and is being a coward, refusing to face the consequences."

"_She's a girl, if you've forgotten." _There he goes, saying the same thing as Yanagi.

"Yes, Renji told me, but it still doesn't give an excuse to acting that way."

"_Sanada, you really don't understand young girls, do you?" _Yukimura sighed. _"They're really sentimental and really sensitive. Now that you've slapped her and called her that she must feel more dejected."_

"I know, but…"

"_Sanada, instead of finding what's wrong with _her_, begin by being in her position and find out why_ you_ can't understand her_._ She wouldn't do anything that'll make us hate her, you know that."_

"…Alright."

"_And I expect you to talk to her by tomorrow morning as soon as you meet her. Or else." _Yukimura said way too nicely. _"And yes, I will find out."_

"Got it." He shuddered a little. No one would like to hear the words, "or else" coming out of Yukimura's mouth.

Akaya showed up to school and people were still whispering among themselves every time they saw Akaya. She couldn't care less at that point—she just ignored it.

It was after school and Akaya was walking down the shoe lockers.

"Hey, did you hear about Akaya-chan's red eyes?" Someone said. Akaya stopped moving and involuntarily listened.

"Yeah! I heard that she gets super violent and all when she's getting that. I heard that it's like an adrenaline rush or something, but gosh, it looks like she's getting split personality or something!"

"She's really nice and fun in school though."

"Yeah. I guess it's just her tennis thing. I still like her."

"Ehh, I don't know."

"It's still scary though."

Akaya, who couldn't take it anymore, walked out, passing the girls.

"Ah!" They gasped.

"Th-that was Akaya-chan, right?"

"Yeah…"

She punched her shoe locker next to her. A boom, louder than anything she's ever heard, rang out in the building. It made a huge dent—and bloody knuckles.

She looked at her bloody knuckles—it was the same color that dyed Tachibana. The same color as her eyes.

'…_It hurts.' _She smiled sadly.

* * *

><p>She walked out to the court, not thinking of anything. The blood trailed down her fingers, dropping every now and then.<p>

As soon as people spotted her walking down just outside the tennis courts they hushed down. She just walked past them and went into the club shack.

"She hospitalized a guy."

"He was literally covered in blood."

"How scary."

"What are you doing, idling around! Get back to practice!" Sanada barked, a bit louder and coarser than the usual. He then headed over to the club shack.

Sanada opened the door and found her getting her belongings from her cabinet. Sanada just walked up to her, grabbed her wrist and made her sit down, grabbing the first-aid kit next to her.

"What are yo—" Akaya tried to pull her hand away but Sanada's grip around her wrist tightened. Finding it impossible to escape from his grasp, Akaya just gave up and let him do whatever he pleased.

Sanada silently sat there, washing up her wound with alcohol. Akaya before would've wailed and flailed, complaining and whining that it hurts. But Akaya just sat there quietly, her gaze directed towards no particular place.

"…Does it hurt?" He asked gently and Akaya just shook her head sideways in a very subtle manner.

After he was done sterilizing her wound and putting on an ointment, he took a bandage and wrapped it around her knuckles.

"…I'm sorry for yesterday." He said, his hands circling around her hand, covering it in a white bandage to cover up that redness of the blood. "I didn't try to understand you. I didn't think of what I was talking about. I just thought of it however I pleased without trying to understand you. Forgive me."

"…"

"And of course, I didn't mean for you to leave the team. And you are not useless. I didn't know what was coming out of my mouth then. You have every reason to be angry with me. But please, don't leave the team."

"…"

"Whatever's bothering you, just tell us. We're like your second family, aren't we? Akaya, you're already doing so much. You've been handling too much burden all by yourself."

"…If I can't use Red Eye Mode then I'll end up losing every single match. Especially in nationals." She finally opened her mouth.

Sanada was done cutting the bandage. He began organizing the first-aid kit.

"You won't, I assure you. You would've beat Tachibana just under fifteen minutes. That's how good you are compared to other boys."

"But it's not good enough…!" She raised her voice a little, clenching her fists.

"You are, trust me." He said. "Akaya, you don't realize how important you are to us. You sacrificed so many things to be with us, to play tennis. We wouldn't have had this fun of a season if it weren't for you. And that's why I want to know what I can do to help you. So please, tell us what's on your mind." He sat down next to her and said.

"…Can you promise me not to kick me off the team…?" Akaya just looked down at the floor.

"Of course, I'd never do such a thing. Now go ahead and tell me what's wrong." Sanada crouched down to look at her face.

Then Akaya explained everything, from her nightmares to her pressure of doing well. She teared up as she did so—

"And… I-I didn't want to disappoint you or Yukimura-buchou or Yanagi-senpai or other senpai-tachi…" Her tears rolled down. "A-And that nightmare keeps coming back every night I go into the Red Eye Mode, telling me that I won't win without it...!" She sniffled and wiped her tears. Sanada just silently wrapped her with his arms, making her comfortable in his embrace.

"Akaya, you're not disappointing us. It's all going to be fine now." He said, with the gentlest voice.

His embrace was probably the coziest thing in the world in the moment to Akaya. Although he had a big, hard and muscular body, his care and gentleness in handling a fragile girl made that hug the most comfortable.

"Don't worry, we're all here for you. It's not your fault."

Akaya then finally broke and she started sobbing. Sanada just patted her back and the head, telling her it was all fine time to time. Then the door to the shack opened and all the regulars came in. Marui and Jackal were tearing up as well.

"Waa, senpai-tachi…!" Akaya ran to them and gave them a strong hug too, crying her head off. "I'm so sorry...!"

"Come on, Akaya, we're a team!" Marui bonked her head and smiled, ruffling it later on. "You're the only girl and kouhai I'm willing to share a slice of my cake with."

"Kirihara-kun, we're a team. We care about you." Yagyuu said (and if he says something, he really means it).

"Yeah. Don't worry about it kiddo." Niou ruffled her hair too and said. "I still haven't pulled enough tricks on ya."

"We wouldn't hate you over this little thing, Akaya." Jackal smiled nicely and patted her back.

"Akaya, there's 0% chance of us ever hating you. Absolutely zero." Yanagi said, smiling. "You're our most important kouhai and you'll always be. We're a team after all."

"Senpai-tachi...! WAAAHHHH!" At that Akaya burst out crying more, only to be consoled by the team (who weren't _the_ experts with crying girls) as they patted her and hugged her. "I love all you guys so much." She said as she sobbed and stifled her cries.

After she calmed down they all gathered in a circle, thinking of ways to find an alternative to the Red Eye Mode.

"Well, it is finals this week." Marui pointed out.

"So… what should I do?"

"Seigaku regulars aren't ordinary players, since they did beat Hyotei. It'll take more effort to take them down… I guess I have no choice. Akaya, you're going to train extra hard starting today. And when you get home, do some drills." Sanada said.

"Okay." She said determinedly. "Hehehe." Then she giggled. Sanada cocked his eyebrows.

"Fuku-buchou's way too nice time to time."

Everyone chuckled; they've always had that impression. Sanada just grumbled, although not showing any sign of distress. He was actually glad that there was someone who appreciated his level of strictness and scrutiny with a touch of hardcore-ness.

"Now then, let's try if you could have a control over your Muga no Kyouchi." Sanada said.

"What?" Everyone exclaimed.

"Oi, Sanada, what are you talking about?"

"Genichirou, I wasn't aware of this."

"Ah, my apologies. It happened just before the match with Fudoumine, I couldn't have the time to explain."

* * *

><p>"<em>So how do you sleep all by yourself? Don't you get scared?" Marui asked.<em>

"_Well… I don't know, it's not that scary. I mean, if anyone tried to rape me then I'll beat them up."_

"_O-of course."_

"_But today's an exceptional case. My mom usually doesn't stay at the hospital overnight."_

"_Then how do you eat?"_

"_I buy foo—AH!" She gasped as she heard a snap on her racquet; she checked it hurriedly and found that her string had broken. Now all three of her racquets were useless._

"_Dammit! Why today?" Akaya whined._

"_Well, might as well get it stringed while you're at it." Yanagi said. "Why don't you go ahead and get it strung?"_

"_You're right. How do I get there?"_

"_You jog, of course."_

"_Huh?!"_

_Akaya was jogging to the tennis shop; Yanagi insisted for her to complete about __half__ of a marathon for stamina purposes. She__ grumbled and she__ put weights around her ankles, wrists, and put a tennis bag over her shoulder._

"_I'll be going!"_

"_Be careful."_

_She jogged and after about an hour__ and a half__ she was at the tennis shop. She got her strings fixed, and when she passed by a nearby tennis court she saw someone that caught her interest._

"_Their buchou's hospitalized too, anyways." Someone seemed to say._

"_Rikkaidai isn't that powerful without the Child of God, I guess."_

"_I mean, sure we have the golden pair, and we have the Super Rookie and the Tensai! They can't possibly catch up to us now."_

_She walked up to the court, and spoke out._

"_Care to say that again?"_

_The boy stopped rallying with the other boy who had brunette longish hair and the guys sitting at the bench, a spikey-haired boy and a guy with a bandage on his cheek turned to look at her._

"_It's Rikkaidai's Female Regular!"_


	27. Muga No Kyouchi

Lucifer of Rikkaidai

Chapter 27: Muga no Kyouchi

"_It's __Rikkaidai's Kirihara Akaya__!" The guy with a spikey hair, Momoshiro, shouted._

"_Want to see if we're pretty powerful even without buchou?" Akaya asked. "I'll show you right now. How about we play a match." She smirke__d arrogantly._

"_My, I__ apologize __on behalf of our teammates. Guys, that wasn't a very nice thing to say." Fuji lightly scolded Kikumaru and Momoshiro. He was the nice and mannered one._

"_S-Sorry."__ They stuttered and said._

"_Doesn't matter. I just want to play a match, that's all."_

"…" _Ryoma just stared at her with __huge, __cat-like eyes of his. "Fine with me."_

_She walked in, set her bags down, and immediately took out her racquet._

"_You look tired. You sure you want to do this?" Fuji asked nicely._

"_I just jogged about half a marathon, yeah." She said. "But it's enough to take you on." She said to Ryoma._

_She began playing; this guy was good for a little kid. But so was she, for a girl and a second year._

"_Care to get rid of the weights?" He said, hitting the ball._

"_After this point—" she hit an extra-spin ball, earning a point._

_"Tsk." Ryoma frowned at the last ball; it was completely out of his reach._

_She went to the bench where her bag was, and took off her 5 kg weights on her wrist and 10 kg weights on her ankles._

"_S-She played with those on…" Momoshiro paled._

"_W-What a girl."_

_The two continued from where they left off. Akaya, who did run half a marathon, was pushing herself a bit hard—because she was losing with a score of 5-4. She couldn't even get her adrenaline rush, aka Red Eye Mode, because she was so drained from the jog and a few days of relentless practices._

_It was 40-15 with Ryoma in the lead, a match point._

_Then Akaya suddenly felt her heart throb. She stumbled a bit—then soon, she lost her consciousness._

"_Wh-What's that thing around her…"_

_The four witnessed a blue aura surrounding her._

"_**Let's continue from where we left off.**__" She said, getting ready. Ryoma, who understood English, tossed the ball in the air—and served a twist serve._

_Akaya had __watched and __learned__ various moves__ from her teammates, her opponents, especially Hyotei; she got into a ready stance that Hiyoshi used, Enbu style._

"_Hey… that looks like Hyotei's Hiyoshi's play style!"_

_She returned the ball with ease, cutting the ball sharp to the other side. Ryoma caught up, lobbing the ball a little. Then she skidded up to the ball and hit it up—the ball, with an extreme spin, bounced twice on the court, earning her a point._

"_Th-That's Drive B!"_

_The next she used Marui's tightrope walking, then next Akutagawa's magic volley, then Ootori's scud serve, then next Tezuka's zero shiki drop and Tezuka zone._

"_Even Tezuka's zero shiki drop and Tezuka zone…! Just what is this girl!" Kikumaru gapped in terror as Akaya's style changed haphazardly._

"_M-Muga no Kyouchi…!" Fuji mumbled. "I can't believe she unlocked it…!" He opened his eyes wide and stared at her._

_The match ended—the two players walked up to the net and shook hands._

"_Hey, what's wrong." Ryoma asked when Akaya didn't say anything but just look straight down at the ground. Then she slowly tipped over—and collapsed into Ryoma's arms._

"_O-Oi!" They all ran over in a worry._

"_She's just sleeping." Ryoma said. _

"_I'll call someone with her phone!" Kikumaru hurriedly looked through her bag. Ryoma just stared at her, then at the scoreboard. 7-5; she had won. And she'd unlocked _it_. The one that all tennis players talk of._

_"Her parents aren't picking up!" He panicked._

"_Eiji, I think we should call Sanada." Fuji said._

"_Sanada? He's scary!"_

"_I'll talk to him, don't worry." He took the phone into his hands and dialed Sanada._

"Hello, Akaya?" _A heavy, deep voice came from the other side._

"_This is Sanada Genichirou-kun, right?"_

"Who is this. Why are you calling with Akaya's phone." _The voice tensed up._

_Fuji explained—hearing that, Sanada freaked out and told Fuji that he'd be there in ten minutes. Meanwhile Ryoma, with the help of Momoshiro, laid Akaya down on the bench._

_After waiting for ten minutes Sanada showed up—and shouted out Akaya's name._

"_Akaya!" He hurriedly came running, and knelt by the bench that she was laid on. He checked her temperature and pulse and whatnot, freaking out that she was completely knocked out._

"_Don't worry, she's just asleep." Fuji explained. _'I can't believe the Emperor is this worried about a girl... she must be special.'

"_What did she do?" Sanada supported her in his arms, wiping her sweat with the towel on the side._

"…_She unlocked Muga no Kyouchi."_

"_What…?" Sanada seemed shocked. Then he stared at the girl._

"_I'm sure it was Muga no Kyouchi; she could copy all of Hyotei member's and even Tezuka's moves." He explained._

_Sanada looked at the scoreboard—7-5; Akaya had won._

"_Thank you for calling." Sanada said, getting Akaya's cellphone from Fuji._

"_No problem. Do you need any help?"_

"_It's fine." He put her tennis bag around his shoulder and lifted her tiny body up in his arms. "Then, I'll see you at the tournament."_

_He caught a taxi and told the driver Akaya's house address. When he got out and ringed the doorbell to her house, no one answered. Then he remembered the talk between Marui and Akaya while they were rallying. Her mom wasn't coming home that day._

_He gently put her down, looked for her keys, and unlocked the door._

"_Excuse me." He spoke out aloud at the doorstep but as expected, no one was home. He carried her in, went into where he assumed was her bedroom._

_He put her down on the bed gently and went to get some cold water and a towel. He checked the time—it was about 7 o'clock. He had dashed out of his house after getting the call from Fuji, when he said, "Kirihara is kind of unconscious right now."_

_He took the towel and washed her arms and face, thinking about the fact that she unlocked Muga no Kyouchi. He was excited to see how far this girl will go._


	28. Redemption

Lucifer of Rikkaidai

Chapter 28: Redemption

"AH! SO IT WAS YOU TOOK ME HOME THAT DAY!" Akaya exclaimed. "NO WONDER I WAS HOME WHEN I WOKE UP! I thought everything was a dream!"

"I did." Sanada chuckled a little. "Now, I want to see if you could do the same thing again. How were you able to do it?"

"Hm…" She pondered and everyone desperately waited for her answer. "I dunno. Hehe."

They groaned. Of course, Akaya never let them down.

"Where you losing when you unlocked it?" Yanagi said.

"Huh? I think I was. Yup, now that I think of it. It was match point. I was really tired too after drills and half a marathon jogs~"

"Did you go into Red Eye Mode?"

"Nope, I didn't have enough adrenaline rush."

"At least that part's good… that means you don't need Red Eye Mode to unlock Muga no Kyouchi." Yanagi thought. "I'll see what I can do. I probably need to talk to Seiichi more about this. And what about you, Sanada. Do you have any clue of how you were able to unlock it?"

"It establishes in a dynamic equilibrium of willpower and being at a pinch."

"…"

"Sorry fuku-buchou, was that in Japanese?" Akaya blinked and answered.

"Never mind. It's 100% dependent on your mind. You need to train."

"So we'll go talk to Yukimura, figure something out, and see where we're going to go."

"Okay!"

"So promise us you won't use your Red Eye Mode until you really have to."

"I promise."

"And promise you'll visit the hospital tomorrow and apologize to Tachibana."

"Ulp." Akaya gulped.

"Akaya." Sanada glared at her.

"Alright, alright, I will." She said, unable to withstand his gaze.

"Good."

"But not to Seigaku. You know, their attitude is really pissing me off," Akaya stomped her feet, "they said that we're not as strong because Yukimura-buchou isn't here. I'm gonna give them another piece of my mind when I meet them next time, so don't stop me then." She scoffed.

"That's fine with us." Sanada said, slightly annoyed at the fact that Seigaku really did make those comments.

"Yes. As long as it's legal and safe, you're free to do whatever." Yanagi said with a very cold voice; he too was annoyed that Seigaku made such comment.

Tachibana was lying down on the bed with An and Fuji next to them; they heard a knock and found Rikkaidai's Female Regular and Sanada walking in.

"You...!"

"This girl has something to say. Akaya." Sanada nudged her a little.

Akaya fidgeted around but bowed. "I'm sorry!"

The three just blinked, surprised at the girl's action. Was it the same girl as before?

"I'm sorry, I was having personal issues with my tennis style lately. I had a huge talk with my senpai-tachi too, and I don't know how sorry I am and I'll make sure to never resort to that thing again. I apologize." She said.

Tachibana just smiled, happy that she was able to talk to them. "That's fine. If you say it's a personal issue then we would just have to understand."

"Thank you!" She smiled brightly. Then she saw Momoshiro and Kikumaru with an awkward smile; she frowned, scoffed, and turned her gaze away to let them know that she didn't like them very much.

"Then we've finished here. Let's go, Akaya." Sanada just ruffled her hair and led her outside.

"Sanada..." Fuji called him as Akaya walked away. "It seems like she's very important to you and the team." He smiled.

"Buchou~ You promised me an ice cream cone!" Akaya's voice could be heard from a bit away.

"Aah." He smiled too and left. "Akaya, I never made such a promise." His voice can be heard too, continued by Akaya's whining and pestering.

"Hou... that Sanada knew how to smile like that. How surprising." Tachibana said in awe.

"They remind me of a father and a daughter." An giggled.

"I don't think she likes us because of what we said the other day." Kikumaru whispered to Momoshiro and he nodded.

"Well she doesn't seem like a bad girl now that she apologized."

"Yukimura buchou~!" Akaya barged in, only to be stopped by Sanada again. "Fuku-buchou, let me go!" She flailed around as Sanada held the back of her jersey.

"Hello guys." Yukimura closed his book and greeted, smiling brightly as ever.

"It seems all went well, didn't it, Akaya?" Yukimura ruffled her hair and said.

"Yup!" Akaya said and Sanada nodded.

"There's another... problem."

"What is it?"

"You see, Akaya unlocked the Muga no Kyouchi."

"YOU DID!" Yukimura exclaimed, smiling widely. "GOOD JOB, AKAYA!"

"But the problem is I don't know how I did it." She said.

"That's fine. That's how it was for me too. And for Sanada too."

"Huh, really?"

"Well, we just came to get a little advice on how to trigger it even if it's a little... final round is just a day after tomorrow."

"Hm... Akaya, this is a very... conscious thing. I don't know how I could help, but I just free my mind of everything when I do it. And I need to want it badly."

"Want it badly and free my mind... Okay. I guess it'll naturally come to me."

"Then let's put it to practice tomorrow morning."

"Yessir!"


	29. Something Between

Lucifer of Rikkaidai

Chapter 29: Something Between

Sanada and Yanagi were sitting around in Sanada's room to discuss the ladder for the upcoming match against Seigaku.

"According to my data, their ladder should go like this: doubles 1, the golden pair, doubles 2 Kaido-Momoshiro, singles 3 Inui, singles 2 Fuji, then singles 1…"

"Echizen." Sanada finished off and Yanagi nodded.

"You're contemplating whether or not you should put Akaya in singles 1, Genichirou." Renji said and Sanada nodded.

"It is very hard. It would make sense that I'd make Akaya play Echizen, but…"

"You want her to try facing Fuji Syuusuke."

"Exactly."

"Although our saying is "Always win Rikkaidai," I don't care so much about that anymore when it comes down to our kouhai." He said, his eyes getting soft.

"…You've gotten soft, Genichirou." Yanagi smiled and said, and at that Sanada turned slightly red.

"E-Ehem." He just coughed, but didn't deny. "Anyhow, I'll just put her in singles 2."

"Understood."

* * *

><p>-The Next Day, the Final Round-<p>

"AH~AH! It's so boring!" Akaya exclaimed, putting her head down on the table. The regulars were sitting nearby a café in the tennis park, waiting for the final match. Sanada was off to the side at the sign-ups table taking care of some paperwork.

"How long do you think it's going to take?" Marui asked while sipping on his drink.

"I call less than two hours!" Akaya shouted, drinking her soda.

"According to my data, it should be around and hour and fourty-eight minutes." Yanagi said.

"Akaya, can we watch a movie on your phone?" Marui asked with sparkling eyes.

"Sure." Akaya took out her phone and plugged one side of the earphone on her ear and the other side of the earphone in Marui's ear.

Niou, who was sitting on the other side, wasn't happy. Why? He just wasn't, seeing Marui so close to her. Their faces were only a couple inches away, both trying to see a movie off of a tiny screen.

In fact, they got so close to a point Marui put his arm around the back of the chair that Akaya was sitting on, which pretty much looked like he was putting an arm around her shoulder.

'_That bastard…! He doesn't need to get so close…!' _Niou, a poker face, could not help but show a slight hint of distress, which his partner Yagyuu, and the data master Yanagi, did not fail to notice.

"Eh! I drank it all…" Marui said with a disappointed look as the cup made an empty air sound from the straw. "Hey Akaya lemme have a sip!"

'_Oi, oi, wait a minute!' _Niou panicked. If she was giving Marui a drink, and if he were to drink it out of the same straw that Akaya was using—it would be an indirect kiss.

It's not that they've never done that before. In fact, Marui and Akaya were like sisters who pulled all sorts of pranks and shared drinks time to time. And Akaya really didn't seem to care.

"You can have it all."

"Yesss!"

Akaya handed her drink to him. Just before Marui got to it, Niou snatched the cup away—and drank all of the liquid inside, leaving not a single drop.

'_Th-that's our first indirect kiss…' _Niou thought and couldn't help but blush very faintly, which of course, Yagyuu and Yanagi noticed again.

'_Hou… so __that's__how it is…' _Yanagi smiled inside as he quickly calculated his "possibilities and outcomes."

"NIOU!" Marui yelped, trying to reclaim his drink. "YOU ASSHOLE! THAT WAS MINE!"

"You had two cups already you fatass." Niou scoffed and thus a quarrel began between the two and Jackal was stuck in between, trying to calm them down.

"We're ready." Sanada came back and the team stood up and left to their match with Seigaku.

"Man, today's not our day." Akaya grumbled as she walked with Yanagi and Sanada. They were walking in a mild rain that wasn't right enough to have them run for cover but just right enough to stop a tennis match.

Unfortunately, the games had to be postponed until a week and a half after. Akaya was grumpy at the fact that she couldn't play and that she had to wait a whole week.

"Eh? It's Seigaku!" Akaya said. There were the Seigaku regulars as well as Tachibana, his sister, and Kamio. The three were passing by; Sanada stopped and the Seigaku players just looked at the three.

Tachibana smiled at Akaya nicely; feeling awkward and a bit embarrassed, she tipped her head very little and bowed.

"It seems you've saved some time." Sanada said. "Either way, you'll lose to us without Tezuka."

Sparks flew between the three Rikkaidai regulars and the Seigaku regulars.

"A-Choooo!" Akaya sneezed. She noticed that the rain was pouring harder and harder; she felt her skin getting soaked.

"We should get going, Sanada. Akaya's been a bit weak these days." Yanagi said and Sanada nodded.

"It's cold…" Akaya started shivering. Sanada panicked a little so he took his jacket off without a second thought and draped it over her. Then he took his beloved hat and put it on her head.

"A girl shouldn't stay in the rain to long." He smiled as he put the cap on her head.

"Fuku-buchou, I'm not that weak." Akaya pouted, lifting up the large hat to see Sanada's face.

"Well it seems you're about to catch cold, just do as I say." He tidied up the jacket around her shoulder and scolded lightly.

Now the Seigaku regulars were totally out of the three Rikkaidai regulars' sight. Seigaku regulars were shocked that such a stone-faced Sanada could do such a considerate, gentle thing.

"Huhu." Fuji quietly chuckled, seeing a heartwarming daughter-father like interaction, and so were Ann and Tachibana.

"Now then, let's go." Sanada, Yanagi, and Akaya all left to reunite with their teammates.

"DUUUUUUUUDE!" Kamio, who was standing with Seigaku and Tachibanas, exclaimed. "WHAT THE HELLLLLLL!"

"Calm down, Kamio." Tachibana chuckled and said.

"How in the world can that stone-face Sanada-san be so nice to her!" He pointed at the place they were standing and flailed around.

"As the only female and youngster in the team, it is certainly expected." Fuji chuckled as well and said. "I've never seen such gentle Sanada before—especially what he did right there."

While Tachibana, Fuji, and Kamio talked about the soft spot that Sanada had for Akaya, Ryoma was just drinking his ponta when Momoshiro and Kikumaru hopped over to him.

"What, senpai-tachi."

"Hehe~" the two grinned a bit weirdly. "Ochibi~ You like her, right?"

At that Ryoma spat out the ponta and coughed violently, making the two grin impishly.

"Everyone~! Echizen likes the Rikkaidai female regular~!" Momoshiro cupped his hands and announced with a loud voice.

"I DO NOT!"

"ACHOO!" Akaya sneezed. "Ugh…" She rubbed her nose.

"I told you." Marui scolded. "Walking around in the rain while having a cold… you sure are stupid!"

"Shut up senpai!" Akaya retorted.

"It's good that we have a week to reconsider our line-ups." Yanagi began. "I was still uncertain of the ladder… and plus I can have another look at the data."

"So what should we do now?"

"We should continue training for the last week as well," Yanagi said, "but we have a problem."

"Yukimura-buchou's surgery, right?" Akaya said gloomily.

"Yes. It's on the same day, roughly thirty minutes before the match begins." Yanagi said. "We may make it depending on how fast we can finish it."

"Of course we'll have to finish it quick!" Marui exclaimed.

"We're going to finish it."

"By the way, where's Sanada?" Marui looked around.

"His bag's gone too."

Sanada was done playing a match with Echizen. He had asked for a match; and Sanada accepted to show him his limit and that Rikkaidai would be above Seigaku.

"You're still nowhere close my level," Sanada said as he walked away, "and Akaya as well. You'll never catch up to her unless you have some godly luck."

He knew that Echizen was good—maybe in terms of experience, Echizen might be better. But Akaya had everything else—physical condition, natural talent, and the most important out of all—effort and ambition. She'd always aim for more and more, and there was no end to it; and that's just what Sanada found impressive in Akaya.

"A camp?" Akaya cocked her eyebrows. The team gathered up in the very morning of the first day of the week.

"It seems that Seigaku is having a specialized camp in the mountains for three days." Yanagi said to the team. "And Hyotei is near their lodge as well, I believe they may hold a practice match."

"That's a problem…" Sanada pondered.

"_Is Sanada here?" A strange man from nowhere in hoods suddenly interrupted practice._

"_I-It's Atobe from Hyotei!" Someone yelped and everyone started mumbling._

"_Sanada, I challenge you to a match." He said._

_After a while, the two renowned tennis players were facing each other._

_Sanada was winning 3-0; then suddenly, when Atobe squinted his eyes, Sanada froze—not even able to budge to go after the ball._

"_Stop right there," a feminine voice said and the net dividing the two lowered onto the ground. Yukimura had loosened the net._

"_Yukimura!" Sanada exclaimed. "We're in the middle of a match!"_

"_I know." He just smiled. "But did you forget that no non-members can be allowed on the courts?"_

_Sanada just shut his mouth at that._

"_Sorry Atobe, a rule is a rule. You've played three games, at least." He said, smiling. Atobe just turned away and left._

"_Why did you stop us, Yukimura?" Sanada tried to reason._

"_I said, a rule is a rule. And besides," he frowned, "you would've lost at that pace."_

"It'd be a problem if Echizen gets a chance to play with Atobe. He'll improve after playing him." Sanada said.

"Then we should hold practice matches also." Yanagi said. "We have no available schools that match up to our level for now. We'll just play amongst ourselves."

Sanada nodded.

"And that means," Yanagi smiled, "Akaya will get a chance to play against Genichirou and me again."

"Alright!" Akaya exclaimed. "I'm pumped up! I'll definitely beat you this time, Yanagi-senpai and fuku-buchou!"

"It's still too early, Akaya." Sanada chuckled.

"But how lucky~ they get to go camping in the mountains…" Akaya said.

"Actually, we could use our lodge." Yanagi said.

"Lodge?"

"Yeah, we went to Yanagi's place for training last year too." Marui said. "It's in the mountains and it's suuuuuper nice."

"We can go for the next few days again." Yanagi said. "I'll let you know when we can go. We should be able to get some good training done by the mountains."

"YAAY! CAMPING!" Akaya exclaimed in excitement.

"I'm so excited for the camp!" Akaya pumped up her fists. Niou and Akaya were walking down a corridor to after school to attend practice. "We'll play tennis, eat good food, camp out~"

"You're such a kid." Niou laughed.

"I _am _a kid."

Then they headed over to their shoe lockers for Akaya to change into her normal shoes—and a pile of love letters fell out.

"Oh shit. Fuku-buchou is going to kill these people." Akaya broke a sweat and put them in her backpack.

"Why are you reading them?! Give that to me!" Niou shouted and snatched the letters away from her hand.

"Wha—give it back, senpai!"

"You're not even going to accept them!"

"Well, this person took an effort to write it so I should do as much as reading them!"

"No!"

"Why not?!"

"Cuz' I don't like you reading these stuff!" Niou blurted out.

"…" Akaya just stared at him, blinking her big, green eyes. "Why not?"

"You're never allowed to read these, you understand? If I say so, then that's how it should be." Niou said.

"I don't understand Niou-senpai sometimes…" Akaya sighed and shook her head sideways lightly.

'_Che. Have some clue, __you idiot__.' _Niou scoffed inside. _'But still… there're way too many guys after her.'_


	30. Training Camp at Yanagi's Lodge

Lucifer of Rikkaidai

Chapter 30: Training Camp at Yanagi's Lodge

"WOOOOOW!" Akaya exclaimed as she looked up at the building before entering. It was two stories tall, had stone walls, and even tennis courts at the back of the building.

"It even has a fireplace!" Akaya marveled, looking around with much excitement.

"We'll be sleeping in the attic since it gets the warmest there." Yanagi said.

"Yanagi-senpai this place is awesome!" Akaya's eyes sparkled.

"Why thank you." Yanagi smiled, amused by Akaya's excitement.

Yanagi went over their training schedule for the next three days and the regulars started training at the courts right after a little briefing. They had three courts at the back, which was just enough to fit everyone to play a round of doubles, singles, and self-training. He even had a ball machine that they could practice with when someone was the odd one out.

"Now then, here are some things I wanted to try out." Yanagi said. "Akaya pair up with Marui and play against Jackal-Yagyuu."

"Akaya's playing doubles?" Marui cocked his head while walking over to Akaya, his new partner.

"Yay I like doubles!" Akaya said.

"I wanted to try some things out. In doubles she'll be able to play the role of an aggressive baseliner, so you'll have no problem maneuvering up at the net. When she's up at the net you guys can double the offense by having Marui coming up to the net to poach." Yanagi answered.

"Heeh~ well then, let's win this, yeah?" Marui held his hand out and Akaya high-fived. "You better be grateful with playing this Genius Marui Bunta."

"Just don't get in my way, senpai."

"WHAT!" They bickered their way over to their side.

"A-Are they going to be fine…?" Niou asked.

"Even if they act like that, they should be a very compatible doubles team, according to my data."

So the set between Akaya-Marui and Jackal-Yagyuu started with Yagyuu serving first. Akaya was receiving first on the deuce side. Yagyuu served, and Akaya returned back, hitting it nice and deep to Yagyuu's feet. Normally, players wouldn't have been able to return Akaya's shots properly due to how deep, low, and fast it was—but they were the Rikkaidai regulars, all on a national caliber.

Yagyuu returned it just as fast, shooting it wide to Akaya's forehand.

"Hehe, as expected of Yagyuu-senpai!" Akaya chased the ball down and hit it wide also, making Yagyuu run for the ball. Marui, being set up for a good ball coming down the middle, poached it and earned their first point.

"Nice volley, senpai." Akaya and Marui high-fived as they switched positions.

"Nice set-up."

Meanwhile, Sanada, Niou, and Yanagi were watching.

"She's a pretty good doubles player." Niou acknowledged. Akaya knew how to keep the ball in play, away from the net person.

The game continued and Marui-Akaya pair was able to win 6-4.

"Good game. This was just to test things out, so let's get the real doubles players started out." Yanagi said. "Niou and Yagyuu, against Marui and Jackal."

"Alright."

"Well then, shall we practice singles?" Yanagi said to Akaya while Genichirou watched the doubles set.

"Okay~"

They started practicing around 1 P.M., and it was now 5 P.M.

"Man, I run out of breath way too quickly." Akaya huffed and puffed while hitting the balls coming out of the ball machine.

"We are pretty high up in the mountains." Yanagi said. "It should be a very good way to train our stamina. Make sure you stay hydrated too."

"Yessir."

After a long practice they all took a shower and prepared dinner. Marui and Akaya were in charge of making dinner the first night.

"Senpai, what are you gonna make?" Akaya asked.

"Hamburg steak, spaghetti, potato salad and grilled veggies!"

"That sounds really good…" Akaya drooled, just thinking about it.

"Alright, let's get cookin'."

The team devoured the dinner that Akaya and Marui prepared; Marui was a good cook, but the members were just hungry after a long day of practice. After they finished the meal they all sat around on the couches in the living room and relaxed; it was certainly a good catharsis to train up in the mountains for a change. The night was quiet and relaxing unlike when they were back at home. Even Sanada looked relaxed, completely resting his body on a comfy sofa.

"Let's play a game." Niou said, getting a bit bored of being just relaxed. "We'll play it for a dare."

"Hou." Sanada's ears perked up.

"How about we play truth or dare?" Marui suggested.

"That's… so… girly." Niou said.

"But this is your chance to dig whatever you want out of everyone here." Marui said.

"…"

"…"

"LET'S DO IT!"

"Alright! By unanimous decision we will play spin the bottle truth or dare." Marui said, grabbing an empty bottle of soda that they finished a couple minutes ago.

The regulars then all sat around in a circle by the carpet in front of the fireplace.

"The rule is, whatever happens here remains here, that includes the truths and dares. You can't make someone do a dare outside of this game." Marui explained. "The bottle spinner will ask either truth or dare to the person that was pointed by the bottle. Truth or dare will be decided by a coin flip. If the bottle lands on spinner, the entire team will come up with either a truth or dare for you. The spinner order will go clock-wise. The first and last person of this game _has_ to do a dare."

They all nodded, understanding the simple rule.

"Alright. We'll spin for who will get to spin first."

The bottle started spinning—and it landed on Yagyuu.

"Ohou." He let out, rather pleased that he'd get to go first. He grabbed the bottle and spun—

They all gulped, getting nervous. They must avoid being dared by Yagyuu at all costs. Who knew what kinds of nasty things the Gentleman would make you do? After the bottle spun around about six or seven times, it pointed towards Jackal. Poor Jackal.

"Jackal-kun. Until the end of this camp I dare you to speak in 3rd person, using girl speech. You must call yourself Jackal-chan."

"PFFFT." Everyone stifled a laugh.

"So, Jackal-chan, can you do it?"

"…J-Jackal-chan can do it." He said, looking away in shame and embarrassment.

"AHAHAHAH!" Marui and Akaya burst out laughing the loudest, slapping their knees and clenching onto their bellies.

"Jackal-chan will spin now." He said, and spun the bottle. The next one landed on Yanagi. Jackal flipped a coin, which ended up tails up: a dare.

"Jackal-chan dares you to keep your eyes open for the rest of this camp!" Jackal said confidently and everyone's eyes pinned on Yanagi. He slowly opened his eyes.

"WHOOOA…!" Akaya marveled. "Yanagi-senpai you're so cool with your eyes open!"

"Yeah, maybe you should keep them open all the time. You know, you could probably intimidate some people too while playing games." Marui said.

"Hm. Well, I shall spin now."

He spun the bottle, which landed on Niou. His eyes glinted and Niou was a bit scared. He flipped a coin and it landed on heads.

"Niou. I want you to tell me where you were born and just when you moved here." Yanagi asked.

"Now that you mention it… no one knows where he's from, huh?"

"His dialect is somewhere from the west, for sure."

"I was born in Shikoku, I moved here when I was 10." He answered. Yanagi nodded. Looks like Yanagi was the only one that earned anything from this.

Sanada then spun the bottle, which unfortunately landed on himself. He groaned. Of all the luck he had, it just had to land on him. Everyone laughed as he flipped a coin.

"Truth!"

"Oh, oh, I know! Sanada, when and what was the name of your first love?" Niou asked.

"…Second grade, Kitahana Ryoko."

"WAAAAU!"

"Kitahana…?" Marui wondered. "Wait…! SHE'S IN MY CLASS!"

Sanada groaned again. "Don't forget, the rule still applies."

"Yeah~ yeah~"

Next up, Niou spun the bottle which landed on Marui. Marui gulped. Niou was definitely fearsome when playing games. He then flipped a coin.

"DARE!" Akaya exclaimed and laughed.

"Hm… what shall I have you do." Niou rubbed his chin, staring at Marui, who was now sweating nervously. "Ah, I know. I dare you to not eat anything until tomorrow. So put down that donut in your hands right now."

"NOOOOOOOOOO!"

"That's not too bad."

"AHAHAH!" Akaya pointed at Marui and laughed at his misfortune.

"Shut up, Akaya!"

"Why, senpai, it's not too hard."

"Yeah, Bunta. It's not embarrassing, at least." Jackal said, still speaking in a girl-speech.

"Dammit, Niou… I'll get you for sure!" Marui gritted his teeth.

It was then Akaya's turn to spin. It landed on Marui again, and the coin landed on tails. Akaya rejoiced.

"What should I have Marui-senpai do~ Uhuhuhu!" She laughed and thought. "I dare you to let me do whatever I want with your hair."

5 minutes later—

"PUAHHAHAHAHA!" Jackal and Niou rolled around the floor laughing and even Sanada and Yagyuu were laughing at Marui too. He had four short ponytails resting on top of his head and each had a ribbon made out of tissue paper on it. Yanagi grinned and took a picture while Akaya posed behind him.

Marui grunted a bit and spun the bottle. The bottle he spun landed on Akaya, who was sitting to his left. Marui then put on an evil grin. Akaya gulped. Tails.

'_Oh crap.' _Akaya was not liking this.

"Hehehe…" Marui smirked. "It's not fun when we don't have a little bit of physical contact when playing truth or dare, no?"

"Oh no."

"Akaya, go around and give each one of your beloved senpai-tachi a kiss on the cheek."

"EEEHHHHHHHH?!" Akaya exclaimed. "I CAN'T DO THAT!"

"M-Marui!" Sanada stuttered. "T-To make girl do such a thing…!"

"It's a game, chill Sanada. It ain't truth or dare if we don't even involve this much." Marui shrugged his shoulders and answered calmly.

"Senpai I can't!" Akaya said nervously.

"That's why it's called a dare. We're like your family, aren't we?"

'_A kiss on the cheek from Akaya…' _Niou thought. _'Th-That's not too bad.'_

"I DON'T EVEN KISS MY BROTHER AND DAD!"

"Akaya I normally don't tie my hair up like this. Alright now hurry up. You can start with me first, to make it easy." He tapped on his cheek and said. Akaya just sat there, sweating bullets.

"AARGH FINE!" Akaya grabbed Marui's head, glued her lips onto his cheek, and let go.

"J-Jackal-chan thinks Marui is enjoying Akaya's misfortune a bit too much." Jackal said as he was the second one to get kissed. Then it was Yagyuu. He blushed a bit after getting kissed.

"Hou… it certainly doesn't feel bad, that's for sure." Yagyuu lifted up his glasses and said. "It's like getting a kiss from your cute little sister."

Next up was Yanagi. After getting kissed, he seemed to think for a bit, and then scribbled things down to his notebook.

"Hm. I see what Yagyuu is saying. It's certainly more towards a pleasant side."

"Fu-Fu-Fu-Fu-Fuku-buchou. This is just a game, after all!" Akaya said before she kissed Sanada.

"J-Just get it over with, Akaya."

Akaya then gave Sanada a kiss. Then the final person was Niou.

"Alright last one."

She grabbed his head and kissed him on the cheek, and finally sat down. Her face was a bit too pale.

"Haaaaaah. Th-That was really something…" Akaya sighed. Niou was just staring into the space.

'_S-S-She kissed me…'_

While Niou was still daydreaming, Jackal spun the bottle, which landed on Akaya again. And it was a dare.

"Aaagh me again!?"

"Akaya. I—I mean—Jackal-chan means—Jackal-chan always wondered what this would be like." He said. "Jackal-chan dares you to call Sanada "Papa" until tomorrow."

Everyone cracked up.

"PAPA!"

"AHAHAH!"

Akaya looked at Sanada. "O-Okay. This is just a game, fu—I mean, Papa."

At that everyone cracked up once again.

After more rounds of spin-the-bottle truth or dare, Yagyuu had to take his glasses off the entire time (which everyone was surprised because he was actually really good looking), everyone had to hold hands with the people sitting next to them, Sanada had to pose like a girl character that was on Akaya's manga magazine until he was selected again, Akaya had to massage Sanada's shouldres, Yanagi had to kiss everyone on the cheeks this time, Niou had to use illusion to become Marui the entire time (which he absolutely hated doing), and etcetera.

"But still, it's unfair for Jackal-chan because Jackal-chan has to do it until the end of this camp!" He yelled angrily.

"Hey, it's not my problem." Marui shrugged his shoulders, his hair still a bit poofy from being tied up so high.

"Man, I'm so sleepy."

"Let's go to sleep; we have a morning practice scheduled at 9 o'clock tomorrow." Yanagi said, walking up to the attic. Everyone got ready to go to sleep. Akaya came out of the bathroom after brushing her teeth and washing her face. When she went up to the attic there were 7 futons all laid out side-by-side. Yagyuu and Jackal had already taken the futons at the edges. She then saw Sanada who was getting ready to lie down.

"I call next to Papa!" Akaya hollered and dove into the futon next to Sanada's.

They all laughed, getting reminded of the funny dare again. Even Sanada cracked a smile in defeat. Akaya snuggled into the blankets and lied down.

The regulars were now all ready to sleep as Yanagi and Niou ran a last check around the building to make sure everything was secure.

"Akaya's already off to sleep." Marui snickered after checking on Akaya, thinking that she was unusually quiet, only to find her already dozing off to sleep.

"I'm turning the lights off." Yanagi said as he climbed up to the attic with Niou and walked over to the lamp.

"Okay."

He turned the light off; except for the emergency lights downstairs, it was all nice and dark in the lodge.

"Good night everyone."

"Good night."

* * *

><p>I wish I had friendsteammates like them… T_T


	31. Showdown

Lucifer of Rikkaidai

Chapter 31: Showdown

The Rikkaidai regulars resumed training, and it finally became the last day at the lodge. For two days they jogged up the mountains in the morning and practiced tennis in the afternoon.

"We'll play a one-set singles match, Akaya." Sanada said on the last day of practice.

"Really!? YESS!"

She hopped over to the court and got ready.

"Fuku-buchou, don't go easy on me!"

"Of course not. Show me everything you've got." He said.

Akaya won the racket spin and decided to serve first. All the regulars were now watching on the sidelines for an interesting re-match since the beginning of the school year.

Akaya bounced the ball with her left hand as she got into a ready position to serve. She was thinking; how can she beat this huge obstacle? What was her tactic?

She finally grabbed the ball, tossed it—and swung her racquet.

"Knuckle serve!" Marui exclaimed. She had pulled out one of her ace cards right from the start.

The ball spun haphazardly and bounced into a completely different direction. Sanada didn't make an effort to swing his racquet, but rather, just eyed the ball.

"Your knuckle serve's got more spin than last time." Sanada smiled amusingly as he tossed back the ball to Akaya.

"Hehe. Thanks fuku-buchou." Akaya rubbed the bottom of her nose and grinned as she got into a ready position again on the ad side. She served this time, expecting Sanada to hit it back. Bingo: Sanada swung his racquet and hit the ball.

They rallied and rallied; neither side was willing to give up a point. 1-1, 2-2, they each one game after another.

"Damn, this is intense! That Akaya's actually keeping up with Sanada." Marui whistled and said. "Yanagi, how's the outlook?"

"Akaya's skill isn't as… high as I expected to be." He said with a bit confused face. "If I'm correct, she shouldn't be struggling too much to get three games."

"No…" Niou mumbled and they all turned to look at him. "She's hiding something."

Akaya felt her heart throb; she suddenly felt her body become featherweight, strength springing up from deep inside her body.

"Muga no kyouchi… finally." Yanagi mumbled and smiled, looking at Akaya who was now surrounded by a red aura of sort. "This is where everything begins."

"Hou… interesting." Sanada smirked. Then before everyone knew, he was surrounded in a similar but different colored, blue aura.

"Sanada's bringing his Muga no Kyouchi out too, huh?" Marui clucked his tongue and crossed his arms.

And so the two players once again started another rally. They were still refusing to lose any games; 3-3, 4-4, 5-5, and 6-6; they were onto the tiebreaker.

"Tiebreaker… now whoever has more strength wins the match." Yagyuu adjusted his glasses and said.

"Genichirou's definitely stronger in terms of stamina. They are equal in terms of mental power however, but stamina wise…" Yanagi observed the two switch sides. "Akaya's definitely handicapped, because her body is far weaker compared to Genichirou's."

"So…"

"Genichirou has 78% chance in winning."

"Damn…" They all mumbled and focused back on the game.

"They're both having a tough time though." Marui said; Sanada and Akaya were both sweating tremendously, breathing very hard.

"16 all!" Jackal called out; Akaya hit a flat, down-the-line shot, catching tired Sanada off-guard.

"16-17!" This time Sanada came up to the net and volleyed to cleanly put away the ball.

"17 all!"

"It's been two hours already and neither one is giving up! This is going to go on forever…! Oi Yanagi, shouldn't we stop them? At this rate, they're not going to recover before the match this week!" Marui, who was worried to death about the two cornerstone players in the team, desperately asked.

"Akaya's stamina should be at her limit now." Yanagi replied. "Genichirou should be able to finish it soon."

Another hour passed—

"42-43!"

"Haa… haa…" Akaya huffed and puffed as she got hold of the ball to serve. It was long after Sanada and Akaya both lost Muga no Kyouchi and were fighting solely by willpower.

She served and dashed to the net right away—Sanada, who saw through it, lobbed it over Akaya's head.

"She's not going to reach it in time!"

'_Move…! God dammit, please move!__ I have to defeat the three monsters, don't fail me now!__' _She shouted in her mind as she reached for the ball that was falling.

Then something throbbed inside Akaya.

"Akaya! Stop being so reckless!" Niou shouted in fear as he spotted that she was heading over to the fence without looking.

"Watch out!"

Then suddenly, her legs became unusually light. She dashed for the ball and hit it back by diving to save it. Her head and the fence made a collision—

The ball hit the top of the net; it bounced above a couple inches—and dropped slowly onto the court, on Akaya's side. She had lost the point, and the set.

Sanada stood there like a rock, staring at the neon ball that rolled in behind the net on her side of the court. That was a really close point. Under his hat he smiled faintly and walked over to the net.

Akaya walked over to the net also; Sanada freaked out as he noticed blood flowing down from her forehead.

"Good game, senpai! I guess I'm still not good enough to beat you!" She held out her hand and said. She then collapsed, only to be caught by Sanada before falling. "And my legs won't move now... I thought I was done for."

"Good game, Akaya. You've improved tremendously. I was surprised. The outcome next time we play should be completely unpredictable." Sanada said. "Although I'm not happy about you throwing your body like that." He examined her forehead and said. "Come on, let's get that treated."

Sanada carried her over to the bench and Marui came over with a first-aid kit, taking out things to treat Akaya's injury with.

"OWWWWWWW! SENPAI!" Akaya yelped and sprung off of the bench. "YOU DID THAT ON PURPOSE!"

"I didn't." Marui smiled mischievously.

"You little…! That was real dangerous, you know!" Niou gave a clout to Akaya's head.

"A lady must be careful to not get any wounds on her face, Kirihara-kun." Yagyuu said. "It'd be a shame if you get a scar."

"I know, I know. Sorry senpai-tachi."

"But man, that last point was epic." Jackal said.

"Well, one way or another you still have to get that treated." Marui swung the gauze around menacingly and said.

"Wagh! Yagyuu-senpai, you do it! Marui-senpai's purposely hurting me!"

Off to the side, Yanagi was talking to Sanada.

"Did you catch that? At the last point?" Sanada asked.

"Aah. Sudden concentration of strength in her lower body; there was a hint of blue aura." Yanagi nodded and said.

"Seems like Hyakuren Jitoku no Kiwami; but I'm guessing she won't be able to open that door again since she isn't aware of it herself. It's going to take some time."

"Yes; and she'll learn to open the next two doors on her own."

"Renji. How do you think she will do against Echizen Ryoma at this rate?"

"Interesting question. From what I've been seeing, Echizen has been improving at a tremendous rate. However, Akaya's potential isn't something to underestimate either. In terms of experience, Echizen is at an upper hand; but in terms of technique and willpower—Akaya's completely out of the league. But I'm sure Echizen achieved Muga no Kyouchi by now. Without it he can't stand a chance against Akaya. After that loss, I'm sure he went through a lot too."

Sanada just nodded in agreement.

"However, we still have one thing to watch out for." Yanagi said.

"What is it?"

"Akaya's red eye mode."

"I thought it was under control." Sanada frowned.

"I thought so too—but judging by how short her Muga no Kyouchi maintains and how short her temper is time to time—it'll probably come out time to time depending on the environment, especially when her emotion fluctuates. She has a tendency to burst it all out at once, through adrenaline rush."

"Is that so…" He trailed off. "Is there anything we can do?"

"I don't think so." Yanagi just shook his head. "We'll just have to stop it on the spot if it does come up."


	32. Bitter, Bitter Pain

Lucifer of Rikkaidai

Chapter 32: Bitter, Bitter Pain

"Today is the day!" Marui shouted. The regulars were on the school bus, heading towards the tennis park for the big day.

"I hope we finish before Yukimura's surgery begins."

"We're going to, don't worry."

* * *

><p>"This is today's lineup," Sanada said, "Singles 1. Me, singles 2. Akaya, singles 3. Yanagi. Doubles 1, Niou, Yagyuu. Doubles 2, Jackal, Marui. Alright everyone. We're going to win this and make sure we arrive in time for Yukimura's surgery."<p>

Everyone nodded.

"Always win,"

"Rikkai!"

With a strong chant the regulars walked into the courts and faced Seigaku regulars.

Sanada and Oishi, a temporary buchou, met up to shake hands.

As they were departing—

"W-We're not here to lose! Even without Tezuka, we'll show you what we got and win no matter what!" He exclaimed rather timidly and walked back.

"Hou~" Akaya giggled.

The match began; expectedly, both doubles were able to win. But singles 3 was a problem—getting too caught up in emotions, Yanagi ended up losing.

"Akaya." Sanada said.

"Yes sir." She walked out, relaxed and confident. Her opponent was _the _Fuji Syuusuke.

"Let's have a good game." Fuji smiled and shook hands.

"Yup." Akaya said and walked towards the service line.

The match began. Fuji had pulled out his ace cards right off the bat.

"Hmph, just a little trick." Akaya scoffed and sealed the moves one by one. All she had to do was analyze the logic behind it—and make sure he doesn't get the chance to do it.

'_What the—!' _She flinched as she felt her insides throb for no reason. _'Wha—what's happening!' _

* * *

><p>When she woke up, Sanada was getting ready to get on the courts.<p>

She shot up and gasped. "S-Senpai-tachi, the match…!"

"…You lost. It was a close match." Marui solemnly shook his head.

"Damn it…!" Akaya clenched her fist.

"It looks like we have to go without Sanada." Yanagi said, looking at his watch. "Sanada. We'll be going."

"Aah. Give Yukimura my regards. I'll be there soon."

The regulars left, worrying for both Sanada and Yukimura.

While Akaya was on the bus, she thought about her match.

'_I-I don't remember anything…! What did I do? Fuji-san wasn't there when I woke up…!' _She thought in panic.

'_S-Should I ask…?' _She thought, but she was _scared. _What if what she was thinking was what really happened?

"Oi, Akaya?" Marui nudged her on the side.

"H-Huh?" Akaya snapped out.

"Jeesh, what are you thinking about so hard? I asked, do you want to grab some desserts after today." He said, crossing his arms.

"O-Oh yeah. S-Sure, let's do that." She said, laughing.

"You sure you're really okay, Akaya?" Niou peeped from the seat behind and asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just worried about buchou and fuku-buchou, that's all."

"Nah, don't sweat it. Sanada will do fine against that first year and Yukimura's a monster! He'll pull through easy."

"Yeah."

Niou just stared at the back of Akaya's head. He was slightly, no scratch that, _really_ worried about her after the match against Fuji.

* * *

><p>"<em>Akaya…!" The regulars stared in horror; Akaya had aimed her shot at Fuji's temple, making him temporarily unable to see. <em>

"_Oi, Akaya!" Niou yelled out, but Akaya just frowned and turned away. _

"_Akaya lost it again…!" Marui said, not knowing what to do. _

"_I thought it was sealed, Yanagi!" Niou angrily complained at Yanagi. _

"…_It was sealed." Yanagi answered, but there was a hint of skepticism in his voice. _

"_Dammit, Yanagi, you're the one who wanted her to play against Fuji!" _

"_Niou-kun, calm down." Yagyuu tried to calm him down at the side._

"_Niou, lower your voice. It's still a game." Sanada said coldly._

"…_!" Niou just bit his lips. _

_The match was ongoing despite all the confusion. When they thought Akaya was winning—Fuji started to come back and win points after another even with his visions sealed. He was a true genius. _

"_Damn it…!" Akaya, no, the Red-Eye Mode that was taking her side, cursed. Then as it got to 5-4, love-40 with Fuji in advantage, Akaya's body started to glow. _

"_Muga no kyouchi…!" Seigaku's Inui exclaimed. "As expected, Rikkai's rookie is able to pull it out also." _

_Akaya's moves became haphazardous; Echizen's D-Drive, Oishi's moon volley, Kikumaru's Acrobats, Marui's near impossible moves, Niou's tricks, Yagyuu's laser beam—it all changed one after another. _

_Then she held in a new position—_

"_Th-That's…!" Rikkai regulars exclaimed. _

"_Sanada's Fuurinkazan!" _

_Wind, mountain, fire… Akaya pushed with no breaks in between. _

"_AKAYA! STOP! YOU'LL BREAK YOUR BODY!" Yanagi yelled in horror. Akaya, of course, did not listen. Then as her body became more and more strained, her moves became less haphazardous, and she could not produce as much moves as before. Fuji took a chance of this and started to push again._

_The score became 6-5, 30-40 with Fuji in lead. _

_Akaya tried to pull out Sanada's Fuurinkazan again, except all of the moves continuously, shot after shot. Fuji was able to counter the Fire, the third movement, but the ball floated up in the air, just about the right height for Akaya to hit a winner shot. _

"_She's pulling out Zan!" _

_Akaya swung her arm—but the ball dropped on her side of the court. She had lost a grip on the racquet due to all the strain she put on herself by pulling out all four movements of Fuurinkazan. _

_She stood at the net, her eyes unfocused, breath heavy. _

"_Game set and match! Fuji Syuusuke, 7-5!" _

_Fuji came to the net. _

"_Good game." He held out his hand. _

"…" _Akaya just stood there. _

_Her body then slumped forward, and Fuji was able to catch her. _

* * *

><p>They were all in a hospital after seeing Yukimura go into the surgery hall. Yanagi had turned on a radio that broadcasted Sanada's match against Ryoma.<p>

And shockingly, he had lost.

Regulars all sighed.

'_It's all because of me…!' _Akaya buried her face in her knees and thought.

Time had passed with the regulars' silence, and a bit after the match was over Yukimura came out of the surgery hall.

"It's a success." The doctor said.

"Thank you doctor!" The regulars cheered up, but still had that bitter pain of loss deep inside their minds.

* * *

><p><strong>Hi guys, it's been a while! <strong>

**QQ Don't kill me cuz I was gone for so long...**

**I kinda lost an interest in this fandom for a while, but after seeing people subscribe and favorite and whatnot I decided to continue this! See the end of it! **

**So from now on, I'll be updating regularly, probs once every 1~2 weeks or so. **

**Thanks for waiting for me!**

**Thanks and love you all,**

**ScheVi**


	33. Akaya's Resolution

Lucifer of Rikkaidai

Chapter 33: Akaya's Resolution

After Yukimura finished his surgery, the doctors and nurses sent him back to his room. After a several check-ups, nurses and doctors left to give space for Yukimura's parents and his teammates.

Sanada soon rushed in in worry of his old friend. He first greeted Yukimura's parents.

"How… how was the surgery?"

"They said it was successful!" Marui exclaimed, rubbing his slightly moist eyes.

Sanada stepped closer to Yukimura.

"Yukimura… I'm sorry. I have let you down… We lost the Kantou finals." Sanada said solemnly. "But we have nationals. So by then… I hope you recover."

After it got dark, the team left the hospital and each headed home. Yanagi and Sanada decided to stay a little longer to talk to Yukimura's parents.

"Go on ahead, senpai-tachi." Akaya said. "I have to talk to Yanagi senpai and fukubuchou."

"Alright. See ya tomorrow." They bid farewell and left. Niou left too without another word; usually he would've waited for her, but realizing that their talk will be a bit long and serious, he left and headed home with the other regulars.

Akaya waited near the exit for a couple minutes. After about 20 minutes she spotted Yanagi and Sanada walk out.

"Um… fukubuchou. Yanagi senpai." Akaya called out to them.

"Aah, Akaya. You didn't leave yet?"

"Well… no… I wanted to talk to you two." She said, fidgeting.

"Alright. Let's go to the park right there. It's usually quiet." Yanagi pointed at the park across from the hospital.

The three sat down on the bench. What they didn't know was that the rest of the regulars hid behind the bush behind them, eavesdropping on their conversation.

"So, what did you want to talk to us about, Akaya?" Yanagi asked with a generous smile.

"Well, like you expected… about today's match." She began. "I-I know I lost control of myself again even though I know I could've handled it. And…" Akaya trailed off and the two just quietly listened. (Including the ones eavesdropping)

"And if I had just won…!" Akaya clenched her fists. "Then we would've won the tournament…! Because I was around, I let down Rikkaidai and made us lose one of the most important games!"

"Akaya, it's not your fault." Sanada said. "It just means that Seigaku was a lot better than we expec—"

"Then I wasn't good enough to stand up to that expectation…!" Akaya's eyes started to water. "Because of me we lost, senpai. If it weren't for me, we wouldn't have lost!"

"Akaya, I lost too."

"I know Yanagi senpai and fukubuchou changed the lineup because of me. I know it was favorable if I went against Echizen and fukubuchou went against Fuji-san…! But because of me you chose to let me play Fuji-san and I lost!" The tears started to drop down little by little.

"…" The two couldn't say anything.

"I-I don't think I fit to be in this team." Akaya said, sniffling. "I-I'll drop out after buchou comes back. That'll make things better."

"Akaya!" The two exclaimed at the same time.

"It's true, senpai-tachi. I'm a big burden because I still can't control myself on the courts. I'll only bring down the school's repetition if I keep going into Red Eye Mode and injuring other people. I can't go to nationals at this rate."

"Akaya, that's not—"

"I'm just not good enough to be with senpai-tachi!" She exclaimed and finally burst out crying.

Sanada and Yanagi didn't know what to do. They've never seen Akaya break down in such manner since she always had a brute-force mentality. She always put on a smiling face in front of her teammates, laughing, talking ever-so-loudly, and she always had confidence when it came to tennis.

"Akaya." Sanada called her quietly. She was still sobbing. "Akaya, listen to me." He gently wrapped her around her shoulder and said. She calmed down a little and looked up at Sanada.

"It might be true that you lost; but it happens time to time. I remember when I first came into Rikkaidai too, I lost a singles match and that got us disqualified to proceed to the next round." He said. "I felt as dejected as you did that time. I was amongst Renji, Yukimura, and several other third years that time—I lost confidence in myself and thought that I was inferior to others on the team. But I shook that off and practiced harder to improve to not repeat the same mistake twice."

Akaya still hiccupped.

"So I'm telling you," said Sanada as he wiped away the tears on her cheeks, "you just need to work harder to not make mistakes again. Simple. And you beat me the other day. Do you think any other average girl could beat me in tennis?"

Akaya shook her head sideways.

"Do you think Fuji would have beaten me?"

Akaya again shook her head sideways. There was no way Fuji could beat this dude.

"You are far stronger than Fuji, and what you did happened because you lacked experience. You just need to get that experience by working harder. No one wins all the matches from the start—sometimes you lose, sometimes you win. Don't let the losses get to you. Make it your step stone. If you are angry about the results, then prove to the world that you can produce better results."

"Your loss isn't important in that it didn't win us in Kantou finals; it's important in that we can look back and work harder." Yanagi added. "Rikkaidai never loses to the same opponent twice. You know that right?"

Akaya nodded.

"So shake it off," Yanagi ruffled her hair, "and let's fix it."

"I'm sorry Akaya. We've been putting too much pressure on you for being the only girl and second year on the team. You've been pressured all this time—even I can't handle pressure like that as well as you did."

"But my Red Eye Mode…!" She shot up, tears flowing down again. "I keep pushing it away but it keeps coming back!"

Sanada and Yanagi stood up also.

"It just means that you need to get stronger to beat it."

"How do I get any stronger from here…!" Akaya shouted. "I've done so much! I gave up my social life and sleep…! Practiced for six hours a day… got all sorts of injuries…! Achieve Muga no Kyouchi…! But I'm still not good! What more do I need to do!? Waaaaah!"

Sanada just sighed and hugged her. She buried her face on his chest and cried.

"Akaya, your potential is limitless. You can keep on getting stronger." Sanada managed to say.

"I can't…! Waaah!"

The two looked at each other; they were at a loss of what to do.

And behind the bush, the four were observing—well except one, Marui, who was bawling his eyes out silently too.

"We should go out…!" Jackal whispered.

"But this is a really bad timing…!" Niou whispered back.

"Ugh… ulp…. Wah… ulp…" Marui just cried in the corner.

"Akaya… I wasn't going to tell you this, but…" Yanagi pat her on the head. "You still have one and a half door to unlock."

"One and a half…?" She hiccupped and asked. "You're saying I got one half down?"

"Mmhm."

"…Yanagi senpai, if you lie your butt will grow hair."

Yanagi chuckled. "Well I'm never growing hair on my butt then. You already activated the second door."

"R-Really?!" The four stood up from the bush also. Sanada, Akaya just looked at them with wide eyes. Yanagi already knew.

"Oo-Oops." Jackal chuckled nervously.

"U-Um…" Niou scratched his head. "Y-Yagyuu, say something."

"I think it is appropriate that you speak, since it was your idea." He adjusted his glasses and said.

"Well… we were worried basically." Niou sighed. Sanada nodded.

"Sanada and I saw you activate the second door at the very last point you guys played each other." Yanagi said. "So stop crying." Yanagi wiped away her tears again.

"And don't ever say anything like leaving the team." Sanada said, pinching her cheeks. Akaya still looked depressed.

"Akaya. Before all, we love you. We're going to help you if you're going through troubles. We wouldn't ever think of you as an obstacle; you've been doing absolutely great so far and we expect more from you because we believe that you'll achieve more." Yanagi said. "Don't we all?"

And everyone nodded.

"Seiichi would say the same."

"So don't ever say that again, okay?" Sanad asked once more. "We care about you, Akaya." He gave her the warmest embrace he has ever given.

When Sanada let go, Akaya started crying again.

"O-Okay…! I love you senpai-tachi…!"

"AKAYAAAA!" Marui wailed and tackled into a hug. "YOU STUPID LITTLE BRAT DON'T EVER THINK OF LEAVING THIS TEAM…! WE'RE GOING TO WIN NATIONALS, YOU PROMISED!"

"Marui senpai…!" Akaya hugged him back.

"I'm sorry that I said all those things. I'll work hard from now on." She wiped her tears away and said with the most determined look she has ever made.

"Good." Sanada smiled. Everyone did.

"Now then, let's head back."

Marui didn't let go of Akaya even when they got on the bus.

As soon as the bus started moving, Akaya fell asleep on Marui's shoulder, and Marui also fell asleep on top of Akaya's head.

"They're probably really tired from crying." Jackal said.

"Well ain't this cute." Niou pulled out his phone and took a couple shots. "Hehehe…"

When it was finally Marui's stop, the regulars woke him up to ensure that he got off. Sanada replaced Marui and sat down next to Akaya.

When it was Akaya's turn to leave, Sanada didn't wake her up.

"Renji, will you carry her bag and mine? I don't want to wake her up."

"…Of course." Yanagi smiled.

"Ya need help?"

"It's fine. It's late, you should get home." Sanada said. "I'll see you all tomorrow."

"Right."

After getting off the bus, Sanada piggy-backed Akaya while Renji carried their bags, and they headed to Akaya's home.

"To be honest, I panicked when she started crying." Yanagi chuckled. "But I'm glad you knew how to handle it well."

"Well… we're both at fault. I understood her."

"I know there's more to it than that. But anyways, I'm glad this worked out fine."

"Aah."

"Mm… senpai tachi…"

"Hm?" Yanagi peeked at Akaya but she was just sleep-talking.

"Hehe… I love you all~ My team's friggin' awesome…" She said and rubbed her face on Sanada's back, squeezing the grip around Sanada tighter.

"Jyou… shou… Rikkai…! Nationals… We're going to win…! I'll crush you…! Seigaku…!"

Yanagi and Sanada chuckled. They finally stood in front of Kirihara residence's doorstep. Yanagi rang the bell.

"Yes~~" With a voice the door opened up and Akaya's mother greeted them.

"Oh no! Akaya!" She panicked. "S-Sanada-kun! Renji-kun too?"

"No worries, Mrs. Kirihara. Akaya just got tired after crying." Yanagi explained.

"She cried? Why?"

"We unfortunately didn't win the finals today." He explained. "And it made Akaya very upset. But we talked it out and it's all fine now."

"I see… my look at me, her room's right this way!"

Sanada once again put Kirihara safely on the bed.

"I can't thank you boys enough." Her mom said as they walked downstairs. "I'd like to offer some tea but it's running late."

"Yes, we should be going."

"How did Yukimura-kun's surgery go today?" She asked.

"It went well." The two said simultaneously.

"That's a relief. Again, thank you so much. I trust in you two a lot."

"No problem, Mrs. Kirihara. Then we'll be leaving." The two bowed to her and left the house.

The two sighed in relief.

* * *

><p>"AAALLLRIIIIGHT! I'M PUMPED!" Akaya hollered loudly as she stepped into the courts.<p>

"YANAGI SENPAI, TEACH ME HOW TO OPEN THE SECOND DOOR! TEACH ME TEACH ME TEACH ME TEACH ME TEACH ME—"

"Alright, alright." Yanagi chuckled. "Let's start. Although it's not something I could teach."

"Then how?" Akaya blinked.

"You gotta figure out yourself, of course. We'll just provide you with the right condition."

"Hm… okay, I'll try my best."

"Before we begin, can you activate Muga No Kyouchi on your will?" Sanada asked.

"It's a piece of cake now~" As soon as Akaya replied her body started glowing with a mysterious aura.

"Good. You're going to maintain that as long as you can. If you run out, you still have to play."

"Yup."

About 2 hours passed—

Akaya was sweating heavily, panting and legs trembling. Her Muga No Kyouchi lasted pretty long—about an hour, which was pretty impressive since Sanada could manage it for an hour also.

There was another shot which was going completely on the other side from where she was standing.

'_Run…!' _She thought desperately—then suddenly, she felt her legs strong and light. She dashed and reached the ball in a blink of an eye. When she realized, her legs emitted a powerful, mysterious aura similar to Muga No Kyouchi.

"I DID IT!" She exclaimed. The regulars on the other side smiled and cheered. **"FUCK YEAH!" **


	34. A Whole New Level

Lucifer of Rikkaidai

Chapter 34: A Whole New Level

After school, when there was no practice due to court maintenance, Akaya waited for a bus that would take her to Seishun.

"Ey where are you going?" Niou popped out of nowhere and asked.

"Oh, hi senpai. I'm just… going to visit someone." She said.

"Who?"

"Mm… someone."

"From Seigaku?"

"Ulp. _God I swear he's psychic.'_

"Am I right?" He smiled, looking straight into her eyes.

"Yeah…" She answered, avoiding his gaze.

"You're visiting Fuji right?"

"Yeah."

"I'll go to."

"Why?! Don't follow me!"

"I'm going because I need something too. Oop, the bus is here!"

"Ah w-wait!"

They arrived in front of Seigaku by the time they were having a practice.

"Heh, the last time we came here was hilarious." Niou snickered, thinking of the disaster Akaya caused.

"Hehehe…" Akaya chuckled too, reminded of the hilarity that she brought to the Seigaku tennis club.

"Ah, there he is! I'll go apologize and come back, kay?" Akaya said and dashed off to where Fuji was.

"Now then~ shall I do what Yanagi requested me to do~?" Niou mumbled and looked around the tennis club with his trickster eyes.

Akaya spotted Fuji talking to Ryoma just outside the courts.

"U-Um, excuse me, Fuji-san." She called out. Fuji turned around and found Akaya.

"Eh! You're Kirihara Akaya-kun!" He exclaimed, surprised to find her at Seigaku. Ryoma, who noticed her as well, looked at her with big round eyes. "What might you be doing here?" He asked, smiling.

"U-Um… well…" Feeling slightly awkward by Fuji smiling after all she did to him, Akaya grew nervous.

"I-I'm sorry!" She bowed. Fuji blinked.

"For what?"

"Eh!? You don't know?!" Akaya exclaimed. "I think I hit you on the head… or so it seems… from what senpai told me…" She trailed off.

"Ah~ about that!" Fuji chuckled. "Don't worry, I know you didn't do it on purpose."

"Well that part I don't know, since I was in Red Eye Mode… I thought I'd fixed it but it turned out not. But I got rid of it completely now, I swear!"

"Huhuhu. Even with your Red Eye Mode you still didn't do it on purpose. You framed the ball for that smash and it happened to just come right at my head."

"Really?"

"Mmhm." He smiled.

Relieved by his words, Akaya sighed and smiled. Then Akaya's eyes met with Ryoma's—then Ryoma just suddenly turned away, avoiding her eyes.

'_?'_Akaya was puzzled.

"You came here just to apologize?" Fuji asked.

"Y-Yeah." She said.

"Well it's kinda disappointing to have you leave just like this… how about a match with this kiddo right here?" Fuji pulled Ryoma and put his hands on his shoulders.

"W-Wait, Fu—"

"I can?!" Akaya's eyes sparkled. "Wait… I beat you that one time."

Ryoma's face flushed in red.

"I'm better. You just got lucky that one time."

"I think not." She retorted back.

"But I am. Want to try?"

"Eeehh I don't know if I want to since I already know what'll happen." She smirked.

"Chickening out, are you?"

Akaya's temper snapped that instant. NO ONE calls Akaya a chicken. Ain't no one. Never.

"Heh… hehe…! Well since you are so eager to lose, let's pla—"

"No can do, Akaya." Niou, again, popped out of nowhere and grabbed Akaya's arm to prevent her from going into the courts.

"What?! Why!"

"Because your senpai says so. Well, it looks like she's done here, so we'll be leaving~" Niou dragged her away.

"Niou-senapi! Let me go! NNNGHH! FUJI-SAN! SO SORRY AGAIN! THANKS FOR UNDERSTANDING! BYEE! OH AND YOU! YOU LITTLE FRESHMAN! I'LL BEAT YOUR LITTLE ASS AGAIN SO PREPARE FOR IT!"

So the two Rikkaidai regulars stormed out of Seigaku.

"I can't believe a girl like that beat me." Echizen shook his head back and forth.

"Why, it's cute." Fuji smiled.

"Not at all."

* * *

><p>Akaya, with the help of her teammates, was able to achieve Hyakuren Jitoku no Kiwami;<p>

"Wait what do you mean it's not the second door?" Akaya asked, a bit puzzled. "Did I do something completely wrong?"

"No, no, you're on the right track. I researched it a bit—and it turns out that Muga no Kyouchi is a sort of an initiative to opening three additional doors. You unlocked the initiative and the first door out of the three."

"Then what are the other two?"

"Well, I can't tell you that in too much detail since you are supposed to obtain it through experience. You'll figure out once you get there." Yanagi smiled smugly.

"Che, booooring. Ouch."

Sanada gave her a clout to the head.

"You must always remain focused and modest, Akaya." He said with his arms crossed.

"Yeah okay~"

"You should train more Akaya." Yanagi said. "Jackal's waiting for you on the court." Yanagi looked at Jackal who patiently waited on the court.

"Ah, right! I'm coming Jackal-senpai~!" Akaya ran off to the courts.

Akaya began an unofficial play-off with Jackal. Although they were keeping track of the score, the exercise's purpose wasn't to win, but was to help each other improve areas they lack.

As expected of a man with two hearts, Jackal was very strong in stamina which Akaya lacked. When she first started to play in the team she had the weakest stamina due to her limitations as a female, but through constant training she was able to raise her stamina to a whole new level.

Jackal and Akaya played for about two and a half hours straight.

Yanagi busily took notes on Akaya to collect additional data.

"We're done, fukubuchou." Akaya said as she returned to the bench to get water.

"Good work, kiddo." Niou put a headlock around her and ruffled her hair.

"Waagh! Niou-senapai!" Akaya tried to get out of his grasp.

"Good. Now you're playing with me. Try to use both muga no kyouchi and hyakuren jitoku no kiwami this time. But you're going to play without any of them for the first thirty minutes."

"Already? Doesn't she need to rest?" Niou asked.

"It's to bring out the best of her; resting only shuts the body down." Sanada said. "Let's go, Akaya."

"Alright." She took a sip and headed to the court once again.

"Man, that Akaya! Isn't she tired?" Marui exclaimed as he sat down, chewing on his bubblegum.

"He's not like you, fatty." Niou blurted out.

"Wha—I'm not a fatty!"

"Says a guy who could only play an hour and a half top." Niou snickered.

"You little dickhead! You don't last that much longer than me either!"

"Puri."

"You guys, they're starting." Jackal shushed the two and directed their attention to Sanada and Akaya.

"Are they playing a game?" Yagyuu asked Yanagi and Yanagi shook his head.

"They're just rallying as if it's a game. Keeping track of the score takes too much time."

Sanada first served, using his Muga no Kyouchi to copy Ootori's scud serve. Akaya returned it with ease without her Muga no Kyouchi. Sanada then used Echizen's Drive B. Akaya used her one-footed split step to reach the ball before it bounced twice. Then she went up to the net for a volley.

Sanada used Oishi's moon volley to lob her, but reacting fast to his move, Akaya stepped back and hit a smash. Sanada returned it with Fuji's Higuma Otoshi, but Akaya again saw through it and smashed it once more.

"Th-This is going to go on forever…"

Akaya finally took the first point by faking a smash and using a drop-shot.

"Akaya used a drop shot! Now that's a first." Marui said.

"She's learning how to be strategic. It's a good thing." Yanagi said, smiling.

Then the regulars noticed something weird—Sanada's Muga no Kyouchi settled down and he was enwrapped in a completely different aura that they've not seen before.

"Let's see if Akaya can do well with this one…" Yanagi mumbled.

"O-Oi, Yanagi. What's with Sanada?" Jackal asked.

"He's brought out Saiki Kanpatsu no Kiwami." He stated. "The Pinnacle of Great Wisdom. It calls out the number of moves until the point ends."

By then everyone in the club's attention was directed to the two. The non-regulars watched in awe as the two excellent players play a match on a whole new level.

"Are you ready Akaya?" Sanada asked, and Akaya, although a bit confused, nodded her head.

They rallied—and Sanada suddenly said, "5."

'_Five? What's with a 5?' _

Then after five shots Sanada hit a winner.

'_Y-You're kidding! That was after 5 shots like fukubuchou said.' _Akaya exclaimed in her head.

Each rally Sanada called out a number, and the point ended at the exact number of rallies that Sanada called out.

'_H-How am I going to break this…? I've been trying everything to take the point away from him…!' _

"Here goes the next one." Sanada said, and served.

'_What should I do…!' _

Even with Muga no Kyouchi and Hyakuren Jitoku no Kiwami, Akaya kept on losing.

"Damn…" She cursed, catching her breath. Then suddenly, her eyes lightened up.

'_What if I try to lengthen the point instead of finishing it…?'_

Akaya rallied with Sanada.

"This one will be 7."

'_Hm…' _

So from then Akaya counted—and on the 6th shot that Akaya hit, she hit a lob to lure Sanada to smash it. 7th turn—Sanada of course took the chance and smashed it.

Akaya's eyes glinted—she immediately brought her Hyakuren Jitoku no Kiwami out, chased the ball, and hit a super rising shot to the opposite side of Sanada.

"Eight!" Akaya shouted as Sanada looked at the ball that rolled towards his feet.

The regulars cheered.

"Now then here goes more." Sanada picked up the ball and said.

Akaya rallied—then suddenly, she could read into Sanada's moves.

"It'll be 5 this time, fukubuchou!" Akaya called out.

"Hey Akaya seems a little different from before!" Marui exclaimed.

As Akaya said, for the 4th shot Sanada hit it lightly to make Akaya hit a hard shot to counter it, but seeing through the move Akaya hit a zero-shiki drop shot.

"She did it." Yanagi broke into a smile, no—a huge grin.

"Woohoo! GO AKAYA!" Marui cheered, pumping his fist in the air.

"That's it for today." Sanada said, catching his breath. "Good job, Akaya." He ruffled her on the hair.

"Yay! Thanks fukubuchou!"

The two walked back to the bench.

"Good job, Akaya. That was Saiki Kanpatsu no Kiwami you just experienced." Yanagi explained.

"WAT REALLY!?" She seemed surprised. "How did I do that?"

"How did you?" Niou chuckled.

"I… hm… let's see… I dunno I just saw through fukubuchou's moves." She said.

"It's natural that you can't explain how you unlock the doors. But you did unlock it so all is well." Yanagi explained.

"Alright practice is over. Everyone pick up the balls—!" Sanada announced and everyone in the team, including the non-regulars, picked up balls.

"I'm dropping by the hospital. Do you want to go Akaya?" Sanada asked.

"YEAH!" Akaya yelled immediately. "Let's go let's go let's go gogogogo" She jumped around like a kid entering a theme park. Marui decided to follow and the rest headed home.

"Alright. Let's go."

Yanagi, Sanada, and Marui headed over to where Yukimura was.

When they went into the room, Yukimura wasn't there.

The nurse came in and told them that Yukimura will be back from his rehabilitation exercise in a few minutes.

"How is he doing?" Sanada asked.

"He's doing so well!" The nurse exclaimed. "He's already able to walk and lift."

The nurse left.

"In a span of 4 days, Seiichi can already to so much." Yanagi smiled. "As expected of the Child of God."

After waiting for a while, the door clicked open and Yukimura walked into the room.

"BUCHOUUU!" Akaya exclaimed and ran to him, giving him a huge hug.

"Oof. Huhu, hi there Akaya. Hey you guys." He smiled and greeted everyone.

"Hi 'Mura." Marui said, sincerely happy to see Yukimura back on his feet.

Yukimura sat down and let out a sigh after a hard exercise.

"How's the rehabilitation going?" Sanada asked.

"Pretty good. I should definitely be ready before nationals."

"That's awesome!" Akaya gleamed. "I can't wait to play with buchou!"

"I'm glad to hear that, Akaya." Yukimura smiled and pat her on the head.

"Speaking of tennis, Akaya unlocked Hyakuren Jitoku no Kiwami last week and Saiki Kanpatsu no Kiwami just today." Yanagi said.

"That's amazing, Akaya!" Yukimura's eyes widened. "You improved so fast!"

"She's worked hard." Sanada praised her.

"Hehe, I still have lots more to do, though."

"Good mindset. I'm glad to see you grow physically and mentally. I trust you with Rikkaidai tennis team next year too." Yukimura smiled and said.

'_He's an angel…!' _Akaya was amazed by how nice he was.

* * *

><p>"Junior selection camp? What's that?" Akaya asked while she gobbled down a sandwich. The regulars had gathered after practice at a nearby restaurant for a team dinner. It was about 3 weeks after the Kantou finals and summer break was approaching; Yukimura was almost done with his rehabilitation process and the regulars were eager to practice for Nationals.<p>

"We actually planned this dinner to select who's going to go to the selection camp." Yanagi explained. "The selection camp is a camp where, in order to pick players that will represent the country, players from top school around the district will train and compete to be the lucky eight."

"Heh~ So it's kinda like a tryout to be a national representative." Akaya said.

"Yes. However, it's not only a tryout, it's a way to see all sorts of players you haven't played in the matches; you'll be among several other strong players and get to train alongside."

"Ugh. That brings back some really bad memories…" Akaya said with a dark expression.

"Why?"

"Well..."

"_**Oh my gosh~ And so I was totally ready to accept his feelings but you know I have a boyfriend~!"**__ A blond girl busily chit-chatted and talked about nothing but boys. _

"_**Ugh, why did she even come here in the first place…" **__Akaya mumbled. _

"_**What did you say? You stupid Asian! I doubt you'll be picked for this anyways!"**_

"_**Better than coming here half-heartedly. Girls like you are a turn-off to a lot of guys." **__Akaya spat out, crossing her arms and not giving much effort in dealing with her._

"_**Then why don't you play against me?" **_

"_**Nope. My pride won't let me play a novice like you."**_

"_**You…! You…! Stupid bitch! You're not even good at tennis yourself! Coward!"**_

_Coward? Coward!? Ain't no one call Akaya a coward. Ain't no one. _

"_**Oh for god's sake, fuck you." **__Akaya stuck up both of her middle fingers at her._

"_**Swearing because you can't play. You're just chikening out, huh? You probably can't even serve right!" **_

"_**OKAY I'VE HAD ENOUGH, YOU STUPID BITCH!" **__Akaya's temper rose and she hit a tennis ball right in her face._

"PUHAHAHAHAH!" Everyone except Sanada and Yagyuu cracked up. Yanagi cracked a grin which he could not help from hiding.

"So what happened after that?"

"I got kicked out, of course." She pouted. "Che, and they ended up losing the entire thing too. Their loss."

Sanada cleared his throat.

"Well, this one, I'm sure, is going to be very different from the one you were in, Akaya." Sanada assured. "People from great schools such as Seishun, Hyotei, Rokkaku, Jyousei Shounan and Fudoumine are going to be there."

"Who the hell is Jyousei Shounan?" Akaya lifted her eyebrows.

"Noooo idea." Marui said.

Sanada once again cleared his throat.

"So like every year, we've been sending only two of our regulars out for the camp, and the acceptance rate for both as representatives has always been 100%." Sanada explained. "And so this year, we will send out only two players also."

Akaya was busy finishing up her other half of a sandwich.

"I will go." Sanada said. "And the other one will be Akaya."

"MMGHMM!?" With her food still in her mouth, Akaya shot up and yelped.

Marui hit her on the back to let her swallow her food. Niou silently handed her a drink. She managed to swallow her food after a while.

"YOU'RE KIDDING, FUKUBUCHOU!" Akaya exclaimed. "PLUS, I'M A GIRL!"

"The regulations don't say that girls can't play." Sanada said.

"HELL NO!" Akaya shouted. "I'd rather practice with Yukimura buchou than go to another dreaded selection camp!"

"It'll be a good experience."

"Then what about the other senpai-tachi! You can make them go!"

"But they don't want to." Sanada simply stated. Akaya scanned her teammates but none would make an eye contact.

"WHY DO_ I_ HAVE TO THEN!?"

"Because it'll help you. We came to a conclusion that this camp will help you the most out of us."

"NO!"

"Akaya. You will go." Sanada gave her an intimidating glare. The regulars were then fidgeting, worried for the safety of their dear little kouhai who was willing to go against Sanada.

"Make me." Akaya crossed her arms and looked away.

"I will." Yukimura suddenly appeared behind Akaya.


	35. Junior Invitation Selection Camp

Lucifer of Rikkaidai

Chapter 35: Junior Invitational Selection Camp

"I will." Yukimura suddenly appeared behind Akaya.

"YUKIMURA!?" Everyone exclaimed.

"EH! BUCHOU!" Akaya freaked out and stood up. "Y-You were discharged?!"

"Yup. I wanted to surprise you guys. Yanagi and Sanada filled me in." Yukimura smiled angelically and sat down next to Akaya.

"So. Continuing on with the selection camp." Yukimura turned to Akaya and spoke.

"Nope. Never." Akaya faced away, averting her eyes.

"We'll go to the beach." Yukimura suggested. Akaya flinched a little. A beach… man, that's just tempting.

"Nngh… I still don't want to go." Akaya said.

"Then how about a beach trip plus a delicious barbeque party? You like Korean BBQ right?" Yukimura made Akaya face him and said.

"I don't wanna g—"

"You will go, right?" Yukimura smiled and asked once more. His smile, though, wasn't as angelical as his usual ones.

"Hieeeh!" Akaya freaked out. It's been a while since Yukimura has put on his scary smile.

"Hmm?"

"Okay, okay I'll go!" Akaya gave up and said.

'_S-Scary.' _Everyone gulped.

Akaya kept on pouting and mumbling.

"Come on, Akaya. It'll be completely different from what you've experienced in America so far. Echizen's going to be there too. You'll see other great players."

"Why do I need to go there when there are plenty better ones over here."

Everyone smiled at an indirect confession of Akaya's feelings about the regulars.

"It's for an experience, Akaya. I promise you that it'll be a lot of fun and help to you. You might even run into some of them during nationals."

"…" Akaya just looked away.

Yukimura pat her on the head.

"So you can do this much, right? Consider this as my discharge present."

"…Okay."

"You'll do great, Akaya. I believe that you'll be the best one in the group." Yukimura smiled and ruffled her hair.

"Hehehe. Okay. Thanks buchou." Akaya gave him a big hug. "You still have to keep your promise about the beach trip and barbeque party."

"Sure thing."

"So, when does this camp start? How long is it?" Akaya asked, a bit more eager to go.

"It starts in 3 days—next Tuesday. And it's a week long, and the actual tournament will be held 3 days after they select the players. There's a bus that will pick up the players in front of our school in the morning."

"A bus will pick us up? We only have 2 people!"

"They want us badly, that's why." Yukimura said, smiling.

The team enjoyed the dinner afterwards; they congratulated Yukimura for his discharge, and once again swore to win the nationals.

"Wah…! I'm so happy that buchou is finally out to play with us again…!" Akaya teared up.

"Huhuhu. Thanks Akaya. I'm excited too." Yukimura put his arm around her and hugged her. Then he noticed a rather sharpening glare from Niou, who looked at Yukimura's arm rather unpleasantly.

'_Ah~! I see how it is. Huhu. Oh man, I want to tease him so badly… he tricked me all these years and I want to do it so badly!'_

"Buchou, buchou! Play a match with me!" Akaya looked up with sparkling eyes.

"Sure, but after you get back from the camp."

"Eeeeh!"

"I still have to rest a bit for a couple of days."

"Oh~ Okay."

On the way home, Akaya remained silent. Yanagi, who was walking next to her, knew just exactly why.

"92% chance that you're worried about the selections camp." Yanagi said.

"Hehe. Spot on, senpai." Akaya chuckled smugly. "I just… my heart's still not in it. I want to play with Yukimura-buchou as soon as possible."

Yanagi chuckled, ruffling her hair.

"Selections camp is one thing in a year, while you could play Seiichi all you want from now. Which one should you do first?"

"The… selections camp…"

"That's right. And I promise you, you will, no matter what, be selected."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because everyone from Rikkai has been accepted with a chance of 100% for the last 5 years or so, and you are way more capable than some of those that were accepted."

"Am I?"

"You are. Ever seen me lie?"

"No, but…"

"Would if help if I go along too?"

"It would help but you won't right?"

"Hm… I could."

"Really!?"

"I was originally planning to go to collect some data… might as well go." Yanagi rubbed his chin and said.

"Then you can go in my place!"

"Nope."

"Aw…"

"Just try your best, Akaya. It's most like you when you give your best at everything." Yanagi smiled and ruffled her hair. "The regulars will love to hear that you, among twenty other boys, were qualified to be in the final team."

Akaya thought for a moment. Maybe it won't be so bad with two of her most trusted teammates going. And plus, she could meet new people and play new people and cream Echizen's ass again.

"Alright then! I'll try my best to not let you down! Bye senpai!"

* * *

><p>It was finally the day. The bus had come to the school to pick up Sanada, Yanagi, and Akaya, and the regulars saw them take off, wishing for the best.<p>

"Yaaa I'm so excited!" Akaya exclaimed as she spotted a mob of tennis players already waiting.

"I thought you didn't want to come." Sanada chuckled and pat her on the head, looking out also.

"Nah, I changed my mind." Akaya grinned, showing her teeth. "I'll definitely be picked!"

"Good attitude. Let's do our best."

"That reminds me… why do we only send out two or three people? I see Seigaku with all of their members." Akaya pointed outside and asked.

"Actually the camp asked us all to come, but... the others felt no need. Plus, we can't have our entire team be exposed before the nationals. That's why we only pick out three to two."

"Aaaah, I see."

Sanada got out, followed by Akaya and Yanagi.

"OOOH! Fancy!" Akaya looked around; the facility had a huge building, a track, tennis courts, pools and such. When Akaya stepped out, all the boys noticed her and turned to observe the talk of the legend, and murmured amongst themselves.

"As expected, she's here too." Oshitari said. Atobe noticed her also like all other boys

"Heh. Rikkaidai's up to something this year again, huh."

"Ooh, so many people!" Akaya looked around busily and spotted people from Seigaku, Hyotei, Rokkaku, Jyousei Shounan, Fudoumine, and Yamabuki.

"Let's go line up. Our school sign's over there." The three walked over to stand behind a picket that said, Rikkaidai Fuzoku. Sanada and Yanagi kindly let Akaya stand at the front row in order to not block her view.

"Welcome." A woman in a white lab coat and glasses greeted them. Then there was the coach from Hyotei and from Seigaku.

After a series of introductions the 28 players that gathered went inside their dorms to check where their rooms were.

Akaya, who was the only girl in the camp, got to share a room with Tachibana An.

'_WELL AIN'T THIS JUST AWK.' _She thought and headed over to her room.

It was not just because of what Akaya's Red Eye Mode imposed on others; because Akaya was just too caught up in tennis, she did not know how to treat girls other than her mom and her only girl friend at school. She had an older brother, her entire team was nothing but boys, and even her cousin was a boy.

And plus, even if Akaya apologized to Tachibana Kippei and An was there to witness it, she didn't see Akaya apologizing to Fuji after the tournament. And yes, she was there during the match to see the entire thing happen right before her eyes.

Akaya sighed. When she walked into her room, An was already inside, organizing her luggage.

"Hi." Akaya greeted casually.

"…Hi." An stared at Akaya with blank eyes for a couple of seconds before saying hi.

'_Is this a good sign or not…?' _Akaya was already sweating inside.

When she tried to reach for the drawer in between their beds, An flinched a little, surprised by Akaya's arm.

'_Haah… that's what it is.' _Akaya sighed inwardly, opened the drawer, and put her cellphone charger inside.

She quietly left the room, partly to stay away from An and partly to check which team she was put in.

And great. The same team with Kamio. Double the awkwardness.

Then her eyes met with Kamio. He seemed to have frowned if it wasn't just her imagination.

'_Che. I don't even care anymore.' _

'_Let's see… gah. Echizen Ryoma. Oishi Choutarou. Kajimoto Wakahisa. Kamio Eiji. Me. Shishido Ryou. Sengoku Kiyosumi. Momoshiro Takeshi. Hn. Seeems like a fair enough group.' _Akaya just scoffed and walked away. Too bad Yanagi and Sanada were in different teams too.

"Hey, you're that second year ace girl!" Someone hollered. Akaya flinched a little, surprised by a sudden loud voice. She has never seen this dude before.

'_Aaaah then he must be from Jyousei Shounan. Che, how annoying.' _

"Aw, aren't you cute! To be the only girl blooming in a mob of guys… mm~ how wonderful!"

Akaya just sighed and walked away while this idiot rambled on and on, boasting about how wonderful he was.

'_I feel like I've seen the same kind even among girls.' _

There were too many things bothering her at once. Plus, this dude looked like a total douchebag and a player.

"Looks like you're in my team too." Echizen, who appeared out of nowhere, said.

"Woooow we're in the same team with this girl!" Kikumaru Eiji beamed as he jumped on top of Echizen's shoulders.

"Yo, Kirihara!" Momoshiro walked over too and greeted her casually.

"Sup." She greeted too. "Looks like all Seigaku members made it, huh?"

"Mmhm!" Kikumaru exclaimed. "I heard Yukimura's surgery went well! Congratulations!"

Akaya's face brightened at the mention of Yukimura. "I know! Thanks! I knew he was going to make it though." She grinned.

"Hehe, you're not as scary as we thought." Kikumaru said with sparkling eyes, staring into Akaya's face which made her just slightly, veeery slightly uncomfortable. Nonetheless, he was a fun and sociable person.

"I heard you came over to apologize to Fuji-senpai." Momoshiro said. "I'm glad you did, or else I would've totally misjudged you."

"Awww he told you guys about that? How uncool of me…" Akaya sighed, scratching her head.

"It's fine, it's fine! At least the Seigaku regulars all seem to like you for that. At least more than that stupid Jyousei Shounan." Momoshiro shot a glare at Jyousei Shounan's douchebag player.

"Akaya." A deep voice called Akaya. She knew exactly whose voice it was.

"Fukubuchou!" She gleamed and immediately brightened up. Yanagi was with him too. "Yanagi-senpai! Did you check your team?"

"Aah. We're all separated. It's good that we can see other people, though." Sanada said. "Hello." And he greeted the three Seigaku players who were talking to her.

"I hope our Akaya didn't impose on you too much." He said and pat her on the head.

"I didn't…!"

"N-Not at all." The Seigaku regulars could still not get used to Sanada when he was with Akaya.

The players all went back to their rooms to check on their uniforms they received; gladly, An wasn't there or else Akaya would have had to go through another moment of awkwardness.

When she changed and looked at herself in the mirror, she sighed.

"It's big." She looked at the sleeves that covered her hand entirely. When she came out with her uniforms to get them changed, she saw Ryoma walk out of the room too.

"You too?" She snickered.

"Shut up."

"No wonder. You _are_ shorter than me."

"Che."

After she got her uniform switched to the smallest size possible, she came back and changed again.

"Now this is what I'm talking about!" She looked at herself in the mirror and posed. "Damn, Kirihara Akaya. You look fabulous. This uniform was made just for you."

She walked out with her tennis bag and headed over to where Ryuuzaki's team was supposed to meet: by the tracks. And of course, Kamio had to be there too.

'_Ugh. Whatever, I'm not here to deal with this shit.'_ Akaya sighed, sat down, and just stared blankly into the sky.

"What are you looking at?" Kikumaru popped out behind Akaya, completely blocking Akaya's view.

"Wagh!" Akaya yelped. Kikumaru looked up at the sky and back down at Akaya.

"There's nothing up there. Not even clouds."

"I was just looking." Akaya said, slightly annoyed.

"Aha! So you were daydreaming." Kikumaru snapped his fingers. Then, Oishi, Momoshiro and Echizen came over.

"Hehe. Aren't you glad that one fits you? Although it still looks bigger." Akaya teased Echizen, and he got flustered a bit.

"Hehehe! Aren't you, Echizen~?" Momoshiro teased also.

"S-Shut up, both of you." He looked away.

"Hehehe. Aren't you glad you're in Sumire-chan's group? She's really chill." Kikumaru said and Momoshiro nodded.

"Sumire-chan?!" Akaya cocked her eyebrows. Did they mean Coach Ryuzaki when he said Sumire-chan?

"Yup! We call her Sumire-chan." Kikumaru grinned.

"You guys seem to be on good terms with your Coach." Akaya was awed.

Maybe it was because Rikkaidai tennis team didn't have any coaches since the regulars were so capable. The Big Three would replace any coach just fine, in all honesty.

"Mmhm! How about Rikkaidai?"

"Oh, we don't have a coach." Akaya stated with much simplicity. "The senpai-tachi can take care of everything."

"Heh~ You mean by the Big Three, right?" Momoshiro asked in awe.

"Yup. Yanagi-senpai is in charge of coming with the training menus, Sanada fuku-buchou is in charge of scariness and preventing slackers, and Yukimura-buchou is the big boss." She explained.

Momoshiro and Kikumaru ooh'd.

"Although, I'm pretty sure Inui-san and Oishi-san and Tezuka-san on your side do a lot of things too."

"Mmhm!" Kikumaru beamed. "Inui's in charge of training menus, Tezuka is like a CCTV, and Oishi's like the mother hen!"

Akaya snickered at that. Mother hen? That's pretty funny.

"OH WOW!"

Akaya recognized that voice.

A ginger haired boy ran over to her and grabbed her hand, shaking it violently.

"MM~! IT'S YOU! RIKKAIDAI'S ONLY GIRL REGULAR! Hey hey, you remember me?" Sengoku Kiyosumi, was his name…? Anyhow, this guy bothered Akaya back then.

"Aren't you Yamabuki's Sengoku Kiyosumi-san?" She answered boringly.

"You know my name~! I'm so happy!"

"Alright! We'll start the practices!" Ryuuzaki soon came and announced. The practice began for real.


	36. Clash of the 2nd Years

Lucifer of Rikkaidai

Chapter 36: Clash of the 2nd Years

"We'll begin by running around the track. Two laps, go!" Ryuuzaki said. Two laps would be half a mile. That was easy.

Akaya dashed off lightly, keeping a fast pace like she always did when she trained. Thanks to all the rigorous training she went through, she was able to surpass most of the boys on stamina.

For the practice, instead of playing matches, Ryuuzaki prepared some drills of hitting shots while she fed the balls. That was easy.

Akaya's shots were precise, powerful, and fast. And she was just hitting it normally too.

Then suddenly, Akaya's racquet made a loud click.

"Aw crap." Akaya cursed. She had broken her strings again. They were pretty new, too. She needed to figure out a way to get cheap strings.

She went back and took out her second racquet. The string was almost about to break for that one too.

"Hm…" She looked around the bag and found the third racquet, which was thankfully in an adequate condition compared to the other two.

Akaya kept on practicing; it wasn't all that fun since she wasn't playing an official match. And then she remembered what the Big Three told her before she came:

"_Akaya. Just don't go all-out in front of others; you'll have to save it for the nationals."_

'_Right. Can't go around telling the entire world what I can do.'_

She stuck to textbook moves for the entire training session. To be honest, it wasn't worth bringing out her special skills either. Everyone else was busy showing off their moves—dunk smash, magic volley, super spin shot, you name it.

Akaya thanked that, since she could come up with a counter even before they met on the courts.

'_Hehe, your loss.' _

After a hard practice, it finally became dinnertime; in the cafeteria, the helpers served food and the players ate it hurriedly.

"There's plenty, so please come get seconds!"

Akaya got her food and sat down at an empty spot. Curry. It would be her favorite if it weren't for carrots.

"Thank you for the food~" And she started eating.

"Oya! It's Akaya-chan~" Kikumaru showed up out of nowhere again and sat down across from her.

"Hi, Kikumaru-san." She greeted. Momoshiro, Ryoma, and Fuji soon came by too.

"Hi guys." Fuji greeted with an ever-smiling face.

'_That reminds me, this guy's so like buchou.' _She couldn't help but think.

"Akaya."

Yanagi and Sanada sat down next to her.

"Hi senpai." She greeted.

"Hello." Yanagi and Sanada both greeted the Seigaku regulars.

Akaya thought she was done eating, until Sanada called her—

"Wait, Akaya."

"Ulp." She gulped, standing up mid-way. "Y-Yeah, fukubuchou?" She laughed nervously.

"Sit down for a moment."

She did as told.

"Tarundoru! You picked out the carrots again!" Sanada scolded.

"BUT I HATE CARROTS!"

"EAT!"

"NO!"

"Hou…" Sanada crossed his arms and stared at Akaya. Seigaku regulars watched in amusement as the Emperor Sanada stare down at a little girl just for not eating her carrots.

"O-Okay, I'll eat…!" Akaya took a spoonful of remaining carrots. She shut her eyes and hurriedly put the carrot in her mouth, chewed as fast as she could, and swallowed it. "There."

"Good." Sanada smiled and pat her on the head.

'_H-He's like her dad.'_ Everyone couldn't help but think.

"Childish." Echizen mumbled.

"Ngh." Akaya's vein popped. "I wouldn't be talking, shorty. You didn't even touch your milk yet." She pointed at his milk, smirking.

"I'm going to drink it." Echizen glared at her.

"Yeah you better because you're a shorty."

"Now, now, let's calm down~" Fuji nonchalantly said in between the two.

Akaya just turned her head away from him.

"Akaya remember to train after this, okay?" Yanagi said. "But do take it easy since you have to be in a top condition every day."

"Ah, right."

'_She's training on her own even when she's here?'_ The Seigaku regulars thought. This girl was just something.

After dinner, Akaya headed over to the tracks and jogged around a bit. Then, she headed over to the gym to lift some weights.

'_Meh. That was too easy. Maybe I should do it harder… nah. Yanagi-senpai did tell me to take it easy.'_

Akaya walked back upstairs, into her room, and found that An wasn't back yet. She just took a shower, changed into the clothes the camp provided for them, and came back outside to look around.

"Hm… they should all be in the lounge, huh?" She looked at the diagram of the building and mumbled. Just when she was about to go down the stairs, she ran into An.

"Ah…" An looked a bit troubled to run into Akaya. Akaya just sighed lightly due to her reaction, and just walked past her.

"Wait." An called her.

Akaya turned around.

"I won't forgive you if you hurt another person at this camp." She declared.

"Hah?" Akaya cocked her eyebrow. Was she saying this for real?

"I thought you would've changed after hurting my brother but I guess not. You hurt Fuji-san. You almost injured him really badly. I can't see any more of that happen." She said, clenching her fists. "If you're going to hurt someone again, I advise you leave this camp first."

"All I gotta say is that my Red Eye Mode is completely fixed and hurting Fuji-san was not my intention."

"How am I going to believe that?!" An raised her voice.

"Well even if I explain now, you won't understand." Akaya shook her head.

"I want an answer now." An said. "How do I know if you're not going to turn into that thing again?"

'_Oh for fuck's sake.' _Akaya threw her arms up in the air and rolled her eyes. She just walked away, not feeling the need to deal with this stubborn girl. Even if she explained, she would just comprehend it in a twisted manner.

"Come back here!" An snatched Akaya's arm and made her turn around.

"What!" Akaya was getting frustrated too.

"I'm going to report you if you hurt someone again."

"Not stopping you." Akaya said boringly.

"Have you no guilt, after hospitalizing my brother and hurting Fuji-san?!"

'_Oh my gosh, we're back to square zero.' _Akaya just sighed. She tried to ignore, but An, who was just angry by Akaya's behavior, raised her hand to strike her.

Akaya's reflexes just made her dodge. But then she couldn't feel anything below the feet she moved to dodge An's attack.

Akaya then immediately fell backwards, rolled down a whole entire staircase, and rolled on the ground. It hurt like a bitch.

"Ugh…!" Akaya moaned in pain.

Akaya couldn't move—her entire body just hurt.

"And so, Momoshiro-senapi was like—UGYAAA!" Someone squealed in terror. "K-KIRIHARA-SAN!"

An, who was shocked by the outcome, ran away.

"K-Kamio-san…?"

The freshman trio hurriedly got a nearest guy to help, which happened to be Hyotei's Ootori, and carried her to the infirmary to give her a first-aid.

"Wait. Not the infirmary…" Akaya moaned, trying to get out of Ootori's arms.

"What! You need proper treatment, Kirihara-san!"

"Kirihara, those injuries look pretty bad. Let's go to the infirmary. You need to get treated." Ootori said, slightly at a loss of what to do.

"I don't. I only got a few scratches. I just need to sit down." She said and got out of Ootori's arms.

"But…!"

"No need to make a big deal out of it." She said and headed towards the lounge.

"Th-Then I'll go get the first-aid kit!" One of the boys said and ran off.

"I-I'll at least go notify Sanada-san and Yanagi-san!" The other one ran off also.

"Wait!" She called, but they were gone in an instant.

"Kirihara!" Atobe, who spotted her from a couple feet away, freaked out as he saw her face and body covered in bruises, scratches, and blood. He was appalled to see the only girl in the group hurt, especially her face. "These wounds...!"

"It's fine."

"AKAYA-CHAN! WHAT HAPPENED!" Kikumaru, who was passing by with Fuji, yelped in horror.

"She fell down the stairs." Horio reported.

"Oi, freshman. What happened? Why did she fall down?" Atobe asked the freshman.

"U-Um. I don't exactly know how, but I saw someone run away after Kirihara-san fell down from the stairs…" Horio said, fidgeting a little.

"So someone pushed her down?" Atobe asked, drawing near Akaya.

"I think so."

"This is a really bad scratch to have for a girl…" He examined and said.

"It's fine, I said." Akaya rolled her eyes.

Akaya safely made it to the lounge. She sat down, and soon one of the freshman brought the first aid kit.

"I don't need it…!"

"Kirihara-san, you have to! Please."

Akaya just sighed and let him do what he pleased. He wet a cotton ball with alcohol, then with a pinset tapped on her scratch on her face.

"Ouch…! That hurts!" Akaya flinched in pain.

"WAGH! KIRIHARA!"

"WHAT HAPPENED!?"

"B-BLOOD!"

'_Ah, great.' _She groaned in annoyance. People were starting to gather one by one, shocked to see that Akaya, the only girl in the camp, was pushed down and injured by someone, covered in scratches, bruises, and blood.

"U-Um. Kirihara-kun. I think it's better if you go to the infirmary…" Ootori carefully suggested.

"For the 10th time, I said it's fine, don't worry."

People were all clustered around her, mumbling amongst themselves, trying to figure out who could be behind this.

"AKAYA!" A loud voice came from behind the crowd. Then Sanada and Yanagi appeared, panicking and huffing and puffing from sprinting down the hallway.

"Fukubuchou…! Yanagi-senpai!"

"WHO DID THIS?!" While Sanada freaked out, Yanagi went to the freshman tending to her wounds.

"I'll take it from here." Yanagi knelt down in front of Akaya and said to the freshman.

"Ah, okay."

Yanagi took the first aid kit and started tending to her wounds.

"YOU'RE HURT!" Sanada said, examining her arms and legs and face. "ARE YOUR BONES OKAY? HOW MUCH DID YOU BLEED?! DO YOU NEED TO GO TO THE INFIRMARY!?"

"Fukubuchou, don't yell… my head hurts." Akaya frowned and closed her eyes. Loud noises seemed to just hurt her head. Sanada immediately shut up, fidgeted, not knowing what to do since Yanagi was already tending to her injuries.

The people watching could still not get used to the almighty Emperor Sanada acting this way.

"Oi, Horio. Tell us what you saw again." Atobe commanded.

"W-well. After I heard Kirihara-san fall down, I looked up and I saw someone run away from above the stairs. I think it was Kamio-san…?"

"Kamio?"

"Now that you mention it, he's not here."

"It wasn't Kamio…!" Akaya exclaimed. "Ouch…"

"Akaya!" Sanada freaked out once again.

"Then who was it?" Atobe asked.

"I just fell down because I tripped." Akaya said, clearly annoyed by the entire situation.

"But I saw someone run away…" Horio said.

"I did too." Another freshman said.

Akaya's head was hurting, not from falling down but from trying to figure out how to handle the situation that escalated so quickly. People had to make such big deal out of a couple cuts and bruises, crowd around, spread the news, and bring more people. Even though people thought the injuries were pretty bad, it wasn't too bad for Akaya because she's handled worse during listening exercise with Sanada who mercilessly hit the balls at her.

"Kamio's here!" Someone yelled. Kamio, with a towel slung around his shoulders, appeared from the hallways.

"What's going on here?" He asked. "What' with Kirihara?!" He was caught by surprise as he sighted Akaya with scratches and bruises and blood on her face.

"Ow, ow… Yanagi-senpai, that hurts…!" Akaya whined.

"Just hold on, Akaya." Yanagi said, holding onto her face while getting rid of dirt on her cut right next to her eye.

"So the witnesses here state that someone pushed Kirihara down the stairs and ran away after; and apparently they claim that the person was you." Momoshiro explained.

"What?!" His eyes widened. "Me?! No way!"

"Where were you up until now?"

"I was training by myself…" He said. "But it's not me!"

"Well, no one can prove that." Atobe said as a matter-of-fact.

"It wasn't him, I'm telling you." Akaya said once more.

"Oi, you. Were you sure it was Kamio?" Atobe asked Horio.

"U-Um… I think so…?"

"Well you've got it wrong, because I wouldn't push her down, even if I don't like her." Kamio said.

"Hm…"

"I'm telling you, I swear I fell by myself!" Akaya exclaimed. Unfortunately, no one bought what she said.

"Akaya." Sanada glared at her.

'_Che.'_ She turned away.

Kamio, who didn't like being protected by Akaya at all, became bothered by the fact that she got hurt and people were suspecting him of hurting her.

"I'll find the culprit. Okay!? I'll prove that I didn't do it!" He blurted out, and left the spot.

"Akaya, you could've been seriously hurt from this. Tell me the truth." Sanada said as he knelt down in front of her. It got quiet; the spectators who thought that with Sanada questioning her Akaya would spill the truth, all pinned their attention on her. Akaya blinked, looking at Sanada with big green eyes.

"I. Slipped. And. Fell." She said.

Everyone let out a sigh.


	37. Untangled

Lucifer of Rikkaidai

Chapter 37: Untangled

Akaya, after getting several bandages and bruises on her skin, came back and checked if An was in the room. She wasn't. Good thing she showered before she fell or else it would've been really painful. She just washed her face, brushed her teeth, and came back out. Even then, An wasn't in the room. Slightly worried, but having a good guess of where she might be, Akaya called Ryuuzaki Sakuno's room.

"_Hello? This is Ryuuzaki Sakuno." _The girl answered.

"This is Kirihara Akaya. I'm assuming Tachibana's there?"

"_Ah, yeah. I think she'll be sleeping over." _

"Alright. That's all I needed to know."

"_O-Okay! Good night!"_

"Night."

As she guessed, An wasn't going to face her after that incident.

'_Ugh. Whatever.' _Akaya took out her phone and decided who to call. Her mom was away to visit her dad, and Azuya was busy studying in his dorm.

"_I better be the first one you call, Wakame." _

She remembered Niou say.

'_I guess I'll call him then.' _

Akaya called him and he picked up not after a few rings.

"_Aah, Akaya." _He answered.

"Hi Niou-senpai."

"_How's the camp? Anyone bother you?" _

"No, not really." She said, even though she wasn't thinking so.

She ended up talking to Niou for about half an hour and then went to sleep. Her bruises and scratches hurt a lot, to be honest.

Akaya woke up early, around 6 A.M., to do her daily morning routine. She washed and got out to take a jog around the track.

Akaya went to the cafeteria to eat breakfast;

"Akaya." Sanada called her. Yanagi was with him also.

"How is your body?" He asked, still worried from seeing her in bandages.

"It's fine. I've gone through way worse when you hit me with a ball for listening exercises." Akaya grinned and snickered. It was true; tennis balls hurt way more than falling down the stairs. "I can handle this much in a breeze."

Sanada smiled in relief.

"Then are you ready to tell us who did it?" Yanagi asked.

"Senpai, I said it like thousand times yesterday. No one pushed me!"

Sanada and Yanagi sighed.

When the practice began around 9 o'clock, Ryuuzaki's group was left to do free stretching while Coach Ryuuzaki had to take care of some paperwork.

"Kirihara-san. Would you like to be my partner?" Ootori asked. It was the dude that helped Akaya get to the lounge after falling down the night before. He seemed nice.

"Sure. Um… You're a second year, right?" She asked, looking up to see his face. He was sure a tall person.

"Yup." He laughed. "It's because I'm so tall, right?"

"Yeah." Akaya snickered. "So different from a certain chibi in the group." She looked at Echizen and said out loudly enough for him to hear.

"Hey, I'm still growing."

"Yup, yup. Oh yeah. By the way, where's your partner, Ootori? The guy with a hat."

"Ah, Shishido-san is just getting a new grip for his racquet. He'll be back once we start."

"I see."

When Akaya was stretching with Ootori, she heard girls' voices from behind. It was An, Ryuuzaki Sakuno, and the other girl.

"Yo, Tachibana's sister!" Momoshiro greeted her.

"Hi An-chan!" Kamio greeted her also.

"Hi Momoshiro-kun. Kamio-kun."

"Everyone's working so hard…" Ryuuzaki looked around and said. "K-Kirihara-san! Those injuries…!"

"I fell down." She replied, concentrating on stretching.

An remained silent and looked away.

"Still going on about that?" Momoshiro shook his head. "Someone seemed to have pushed her, but she insists on saying that she fell down by herself."

"And I was suspected for it. I'm going to catch the real culprit." Kamio said, still angry at the fact that he was suspected of the doing.

An flinched slightly at that. She didn't know Kamio was accused instead. Things got way too out of hand.

"Why do you say that you fell down the stairs?" Ootori asked. "I mean, there are clearly enough witnesses who say that someone ran away after you fell down."

"Maybe that person tried to get help, I dunno. I just fell." Akaya stated simply. Ootori sighed also; she wasn't going to talk at this rate.

"Well, whatever happened, I'm glad you're not too hurt." He smiled angelically.

'_H-He's an angel…!' _Akaya thought, slightly surprised to see an angel hidden among a bunch of narcissists (which she meant by Hyotei).

Ryuuzaki came back meanwhile. "Alright. You guys will warm up and play a game. Kirihara will play a singles match with Sengoku. Echizen will play Kajimoto. Momoshiro will play Kamio. Then it'll be Ootori-Shishido versus Kikumaru-Oishi for a doubles match once Shishido gets back."

The players all moved into their courts.

"I get to play the cute little Akaya-chan!" Sengoku squealed like one of those fanboys back at Rikkaidai. "Let's have a good match." He grinned and put his hand out, and Akaya shook it.

Ryuuzaki came to monitor Akaya's match first.

"Which?" Sengoku spun his racquet.

"Smooth."

"Rough. You can serve first." He smiled and walked away. He was definitely underestimating her. Definitely. And Akaya did not appreciate that.

"Well then, without holding back—" Akaya tossed her ball up and served a flat serve right in the corner, catching Sengoku off-guard.

'_Meh. I guess it was lucky.' _Sengoku laughed it off.

Akaya went to the ad side and got ready to serve. She served, a bit slower this time, right into the corner. Sengoku was able to return it. Akaya then swung fast, hitting the ball right into the other side of the baseline before Sengoku even got to the middle.

'_Holy moly!' _Sengoku's eyes turned wide. _'I guess I shouldn't have estimated her…!' _

Ryuuzaki chuckled. "That's what you get for underestimating her."

Akaya served again way harder, using about 60% of her strength. Sengoku, who still had no idea how strong her serve was, swung at the ball, only to have his racquet flung away.

Akaya took the last point by hitting the serve down the middle; Sengoku, who was anticipating for the ball to come to the corner, missed the shot.

"Damn she's good!" Shishido exclaimed.

"Shishido-san!" Ootori called him.

"Aah, Choutarou. Were you watching her play?"

"Yup. She's really good. By the way, Coach Ryuuzaki said that we're going to play the golden pair."

"Okay. Let' get going."

Sengoku started to get serious too. Apparently, his play style so far was the "Lucky Sengoku's Tennis" where he relied everything on his luck.

'_Pretty lame if I must say so myself.' _Akaya scoffed.

But his play style seemed a bit different from what she had imagined. It seemed like his posture was taken from another sport.

"His shots are getting fast." Momoshiro observed and said. "Apparently he did boxing and applied it to tennis."

'_Boxing? What the heck?' _While Akaya's mind was on something else Sengoku hit a winner shot. _'Oopsies. Good thing fukubuchou isn't around.'_

"Huhu. I'll end this game in 3 minutes, Akaya-chan."

'_3 minutes? As in a round in boxing?' _Akaya cocked her head. And thanks to her being unfocused again he hit a service ace. _'Ah crap whatever.' _

Akaya played, using 35% of her skills instead of 30%.

"Has it been 3 minutes yet?"

"It'll be decided with this point…!"

The score was deuce, with Sengoku in advantage. Akaya secretly played around a bit to get that score, just to cream this guy from "finishing the game in 3 minutes."

Sengoku served, tossing the ball way out in front of him; he jumped high, and hit it as hard as he could.

'_Still weaker than fukubuchou's.' _Akaya thought. Her eyes glinted for a moment; she took her stance, pulled her racquet back, and swung at a speed of light, making the ball hit the corner of the court before Sengoku even landed.

'_Deuce again~' _

"Th-That was fast…" Momoshiro marveled.

Akaya took the next point with much ease. _'I guess I should stop playing around since it won't do any good in front of the coach.' _

Akaya, from the score of 2-1, started to push, using about 40% of her strength.

3-1, 4-1, switch, 5-1, 6-1, and the match was over.

"That Sengoku-san didn't even stand a chance…!" Momoshiro couldn't help but be in awe. She seemed to have gotten much stronger than the time she played Fuji.

Ryuuzaki was surprised as well. She definitely got stronger over the few weeks. And what's more, she only used textbook moves.

'_Huhu. A promising player indeed.' _She thought and wrote her name down on the list of players she picked as the final eight. _'Good observation of the opponent, perfect basics, graceful form, physical capabilities and foremost the will to improve. This girl will become something big.' _

After finishing up her match, Akaya shook hands with Sengoku and left the courts to take a light after-match jog.

"Phew…" She sighed and caught her breath after the jog. Echizen seemed to have finished his match as well. He looked at her with his big golden eyes.

"What do you want." She said, wiping her sweat with a towel.

"You don't seem to be trying all that hard for this camp." He said.

"It's just that I don't need to when I could win without going all-out." She stated simply. "You do that too."

"…True."

After Akaya had lunch, she hung out with some players during free time. Strangely, Momoshiro, Kikumaru, Oishi, Fuji, Kamio, and Echizen were nowhere to be seen. Akaya came to good terms with Hyotei's Ootori and Shishido and Yamabuki's Sengoku (although he was a little flirty time to time, he was a good guy).

Sanada and Yanagi were heading upstairs and found a crowd of people by the staircase where Akaya had fallen from.

"It was you…?" They heard Kamio's voice.

"I… I…! Waah!" An broke down to tears and Kamio freaked out.

"A-An-chan!"

"What's going on here?" Sanada and Yanagi came over and asked. An kept on crying and Kamio was doing his best to console her.

When An calmed down she started explaining. How they were arguing because An was misunderstanding and Akaya fell because she was trying to avoid An slapping her.

'_So that's how it was…' _Sanada and Yanagi both thought. After the case closed, Yanagi and Sanada walked around to find Akaya.

"So all this time… Kirihara's been saying she fell on her own… to cover her up?" Oishi said, thinking deeply.

"It seems so." Fuji said. "She's a nice girl."

"But…" An trailed off.

"Tachibana, Kamio, you've been misunderstanding her all this time." Fuji explained. "When she hit me with a ball, it was a pure coincidence; she framed the ball and it happened to fly into my face. And she came all the way to Seigaku to apologize to me."

"Really…?" An and Kamio were rather shocked.

"Yes. And if you talk to her, you'll see that she's kind at heart."

Akaya was playing against the wall before the practice began. She was rather troubled about An's accusations too: half afraid of the Red Eye Mode coming back, and half doubtful of herself for suppressing it.

She sighed. Worrying about it wasn't going to get her anywhere.

"Ey." Someone called out. It was Echizen.

"What."

"Let's play a game." He said, already getting his racquet ready.

"Hn. I suppose it's better than playing against a wall."

Akaya and Echizen began playing.

'_He's got stronger…' _thought Akaya, as she played Echizen. _'But I'm stronger!' _

She hit a winner shot, earning her another game. By then, people had gathered to watch the two super rookies play.

Echizen accidentally lobbed the ball—

Akaya jumped up in the air to smash it. Echizen noticed that Akaya was glaring down at him; he flinched when she hit the smash, bracing for impact. But there was no impact. Akaya had smashed it to a spot where Echizen was completely out of reach.

"Heh~ So you did change." Echizen smirked.

"Shut up, brat." Akaya said, but was smiling.

The game was 3-2, with Akaya in lead. Seemed that all the hard work paid off since she was only using 50% of her strength and did just fine against Echizen. Echizen, however, didn't seem all that tired either.

"Hey, Echizen." She called him at the net when the game was over.

"What." He came up to the net.

"Let's call this a game for now." She said.

"Why?"

"I'll fight you once we're both perfectly ready. Plus, too many people are watching; you wouldn't want them to know about your every move, especially when Yanagi-senpai and Inui-san are around."

"…True." Echizen knew where she was heading. It was too early to go all-out, especially in front of this many people.

They shook hands and exited the courts.

Of course, Sanada and Yanagi were waiting for her. Akaya fidgeted a little, slightly nervous of what Sanada was going to do next.

Sanada just sighed and gave her a hug. Yanagi pat her on the head, ruffling her hair.

"Good job Akaya. I'm proud of you."

* * *

><p><strong>Aw man! That's been a lot of chapters for this week! Sorry that I was gone for a long time, I sorta lost interest in this fandom but now I am back again yay<strong>

**Reviews and subscriptions are much appreciated!**


	38. Happening and Things FAQ

Lucifer of Rikkaidai

Chapter 38: Happenings and Things

"Good job Akaya. I'm proud of you." Sanada hugged her and said, rubbing her back. Yanagi pat her on the head, smiling. Akaya teared up, relieved and thankful by the fact that Sanada and Yanagi understood.

"Fukubuchou…! Yanagi-senpai…!" Holding in her tears, she buried her face onto Sanada's big, comforting chest, and squeezed him as hard as she could.

The two smiled warmly and kept patting her on the head and rubbing her back.

"U-Um. Kirihara." An came over. Akaya let go and looked at An with big round, slightly moist eyes. "I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused… I got too ahead of myself. I'm very sorry; I hope you can forgive me." She apologized and bowed.

"I-I'm sorry too." Kamio bowed as well. "I also misunderstood and got angry for no reason. Forgive me."

"It's fine. I'm sorry I didn't explain myself properly either." Akaya grinned. An and Kamio brightened up, sincerely happy that Akaya accepted her apology.

"Thanks!" An and Kamio smiled and Akaya just smugly scratched her head.

Then the practice had to begin and everyone moved to their respective team's spots.

"Senpai-tachi." She called Yanagi and Sanada. "Thanks. You guys are the best!" She gave them a bear hug and dashed off to Ryuuzaki's group.

"Huhuhu." Fuji chuckled at the cute sight. "Quite the kouhai you have there, Sanada. Yanagi."

"Aah." The two answered simultaneously.

Akaya was in her best condition. She was glad that everything worked out fine, and appreciated her two senpai even more.

'_Fukubuchou's like a teddy bear and Yanagi-senpai's like a koala.' _Akaya snickered at the thought. Then she realized that Echizen gave her a weird look. "Wh-What!" She flushed in red, embarrassed.

"Nothing."

The practice went smoothly. It started at 2 and ended around 5; Akaya happily hopped over to the cafeteria.

'_Lucky~!' _Akaya beamed once she found out that they were serving Udon with kebabs. After the dinner, Akaya just relaxed with the other players in the lounge, sipping on a drink.

Other than Sengoku constantly trying to hit on her and Atobe constantly trying to impress or charm (gross her out) by winking at her, she was having a fun time at the camp.

"G-Guys! Sumire-chan collapsed!" Kikumaru came running in, freaking out.

It turned out that she just had a small illness that just required a small surgery. But she wasn't going to be able to coach anyways.

"So who's going to be our coach?" Akaya wondered. They were having free practices since they didn't have a coach.

"Sumire-chan told us that she'll call in a new coach. He'll come tomorrow, she said." Oishi explained.

"Who is this person?" Echizen asked.

"I don't know. I guess we'll find out tomorrow."

Akaya did not believe this. Tezuka, who was supposed to get treatment in Germany, was right in front of Ryuuzaki's group.

"I-I'm not seeing things, right?" Akaya rubbed her eyes.

"N-Nope." Momoshiro rubbed his eyes also.

"I'll be coaching you in Coach Ryuuzaki's stead from now on." Tezuka said. "I'm Tezuka Kunimitsu."

'_It's really is him! Man this is some crazy stuff I came to.' _Akaya thought.

Before they began practicing, Kajimoto from Jyousei Shonan came up with an objection.

"A coach should clearly understand each player's abilities and give out advices according to it; can Tezuka really do it?"

"If it's Tezuka, I suppose he can." Shishido said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Does he really have all those capabilities? I don't believe what I haven't seen with my own eyes." He said, looking directly at Tezuka.

'_Ugh, please.' _Akaya rolled her eyes at the back. _'You have no idea what you're getting into now.'_

"I feel the same." Momoshiro said, understanding what Akaya was thinking just by her expression.

"Right?" Akaya agreed.

"Then let's try it out." Tezuka went to his bag and took his racquet out.

"Tezuka…! You're going to play!?" Oishi freaked out.

"The doctor said as long as I keep it to a light swing then I'll be okay." He said. "Now, Kajimoto-kun. Let's practice, shall we?"

20 minutes passed—

'_Tsk. Idiots.' _Akaya rolled her eyes once more. Kajimoto, Ootori, Shishido, and Sengoku all went to play against him, only to have their asses beaten badly. _'Tezuka-san's on a whole different level from us.' _

"I feel the same." Momoshiro said once again and Akaya snickered.

"Anyone else?" Tezuka asked, looking at Akaya. Akaya was the only one who wasn't from Seigaku (excluding Kamio who knew them well) that didn't challenge him.

"Huh, me? I didn't have a problem with it from the beginning, I'll pass." She laughed. "Welcome, Coach Tezuka."

"Aah."

"We understand your greatness, Tezuka-kun. We welcome you as our coach." Kajimoto said.

"Alright then. Let's work hard."

The drilling session began with Coach Tezuka feeding the balls. Players all had in mind that Tezuka was going to be picking who will be selected as the Junior Representatives and went all-out, showing their "special moves" and whatnot.

'_Then should I? I kinda feel bad that I've been only sticking to the basics all this time.' _Akaya contemplated. Then it was her turn to smash. _'Oop, my turn.'_

She chased the ball down, and without holding herself back, smashed it like she would when she'd go all-out against Sanada. She had activated Hyakuren Jitoku no Kiwami for a split second to concentrate force onto her arm.

"Hooooly shit that smash…" Shishido gawked.

Of course, the other players didn't recognize, or just didn't see it. But Tezuka's eyes glinted in interest.

'_Aw, maybe I shouldn't have.' _Akaya thought after noticing Inui over the fence, taking good notes on everything Akaya did.

For the next smash she just hit it like she always did during the camp.

"How come you didn't hit the other two as hard as you did for the first one?" Echizen asked, curious about why she chose to immediately stop going all-out.

"Because," pointing at Inui behind the bushes, "your teammate is observing everything I'm doing." She said.

"Oh hey, it's Inui-senpai." Momoshiro noticed him also. "Collecting data again, I see."

"What are you doing behind that bush, Inui-san?!" Akaya spoke out purposely; having been found out, Inui hurriedly fled from the spot. Akaya, Momoshiro, Echizen, and Kikumaru snickered.

"Who knows what I might run into with him collecting all sorts of data about me?" She shook her head sideways. "Yanagi-senpai alone is enough for me."

Tezuka, who was carefully observing the players one by one, took a great interest in Akaya. It was partly because of her being able to activate hyakuren, and party due to her getting along well with everyone in the group. Even with Sengoku who always bothered her, she seriously considered him when playing on the courts.

What surprised him the most was the fact that she got along very well with the regulars in his team. From the updates he's been getting, she was supposed to be a violent girl who had hospitalized Tachibana and momentarily blinded Fuji.

'_Something changed about her.' _He thought, observing Akaya who was rallying with Momoshiro.

It was definitely not a bad start for Akaya in Tezuka's eyes.

That evening—

Akaya was talking to Sanada at the lounge. Then suddenly, Atobe came over and said, "we're going to hold a welcome party for Tezuka."

"Welcome party?" Akaya cocked her eyebrow. "Now?"

"No, tomorrow evening. And we're going to sing a song for him." He said proudly.

Akaya's mouth gapped wide open, gawking at the corny idea.

"That's why I'm gathering people who is willing to sing. But… surely, you won't do it huh, Sanada?" Atobe smirked as if he wanted to tick him off and get him to sing.

"Knowing fukubuchou, he wouldn't~ he never goes to karaok—"

"Fine. I'll do it."

"REALLY!?"

"I could at least sing." He said.

"How about you, Kirihara?" Atobe asked Akaya also.

"Haha, I'm not a good singer so I'll decli—ulp." Sanada was looking right at her, giving his do-it-or-else-you'll-run-100-laps look.

"No way." Akaya's face turned blue.

"You. Will. Sing." Sanada's gaze intensified, towering over shivering Akaya.

"F-Fine! I-I'll do it." She squeaked.

"Good." Sanada smiled, satisfied.

'_I-I can't believe this is happening.' _Akaya face palmed herself over and over in her mind. Sanada, Akaya, Kamio, Ibu, Sengoku, Atobe, and Oshitari were standing on the stage.

"Now then! Gathered specially for this occasion, we have a group that will perform a song!" Horio introduced.

'_Oh my god.' _

The music started, and Atobe sang the first line. Then it was Akaya's turn to sing. Akaya was a pretty good singer; she just didn't like singing in front of people.

After they sang, they came back to their seats. Akaya, who couldn't stand the corniness of the party, snuck out quietly and headed outside where she won't be caught.

She had recently found a perfect hiding spot; there was a big tree planted by the track and she was able to climb it. When she got to the tree, she scanned the area to make sure there was no one, and started climbing.

"Oh, it's you." A voice was heard from above the tree.

"WAGH!" Akaya freaked out and fell.

"Calm down, it's me."

"Echizen?" She recognized that voice. "What are you doing here?"

"Just chillin'. What are you doing here?"

"I came out because the party was so corny." Akaya sighed and climbed up the tree.

"Why, it seemed like you had fun singing." Echizen smirked.

"I was forced to do it…" She sighed, thinking of the awful experience she had to go through. She _really really _didn't want to, but Sanada almost threatened her and she didn't have any choice. "Whatever."

She finally climbed up and sat next to Ryoma.

"When did you find out about this tree?" He asked.

"Yesterday. I thought if I could climb it then it'd be a good hiding spot. It's pretty nice."

"Hn."

"Ah, that's right." Akaya took out a can of ponta from her pocket. "Want one?"

"Sure. Thanks." Echizen accepted, slightly excited that she brought his favorite drink in his favorite flavor. "Why do you have this anyways?" He popped open the can.

"I just grabbed whatever was on the table when I left the party." Akaya answered, opening her can. "I should've grabbed the snacks too… darn."

Then Akaya's phone suddenly rang.

"Hellooo?"

"_Akaya, it's me." _

"Hi Niou-senpai." She answered.

"_I heard you got hurt. Are you all right? Did someone do anything bad?" _

"Yeah I'm fine I just have a few scratches. I just fell down cuz I was careless."

"_You wakame! What's a girl going to do, falling down the stairs like that!" _Niou scolded.

"I'm doing just fine." Akaya rolled her eyes. "It wasn't as bad as getting hit with the tennis balls by fukubuchou."

"_Just be more careful."_

"Yeah, yeah."

"_What are you doing right now?"_

"I'm just chilling out on top of a tree."

Echizen sneezed.

"_Who was that."_ Niou's voice suddenly turned serious.

"Uhhhh Echizen Ryoma." She answered, looking at him with the corner of her eye. Echizen looked at Akaya with curiosity.

"_Why are you with him this late." _

"We snuck out of the corniest party ever held on earth." She said and Echizen smirked.

"_Are you two alone?"_

"Yeah."

"…_Mmmmmm I don't know what I feel about that Akaya…!" _

"It's… really… fine…" Akaya cocked her eyebrows.

"_Hurry up and go back to your room, okay?" _

"What! I'll go back whenever I please." She said. "The party's not going to end until late; might as well stay up."

Niou sighed. It was near impossible to persuade Akaya when she wanted to do something. _"Fine. I'll call you tomorrow." _

"Okay. Bye senpai."

She hung up and put her phone away. She took a sip of the ponta.

"Are you guys dating?"

"PFFFFFFFFFFFT!" Akaya spat out the soda in her mouth and started coughing.

"Guess not." Echizen calmly sipped on his soda.

"Look, Echizen. The last thing I would do is date a guy like Niou-senpai. You don't know how much he made me suffer…!"

"Why?"

"He pulls all sorts of prank on me. It's horrible. It's just terrible. Because of him fukubuchou almost killed me for stealing his hat…!" Akaya's face became dreaded with the horrible memories. "And the electrical gum! That thing is annoying!"

Echizen was rather amused by how Akaya could rant on and on about Niou pulling tricks on her. To be truthful, he didn't expect Kirihara Akaya of Rikkaidai Fuzoku to be this talkative and friendly. He always saw her on the courts, serious, devastating, and near-death impossible to be acquainted to. Her smile on the courts weren't smiles but rather a smirk that condescendingly looked down on others. Like all other Rikkaidai regulars she was skilled but was uptight, stubborn, and obsessed with winning—at least he thought, until he saw her at the camp.

"Why did you cover for Tachibana's sister?" He asked. He had been curious—although he felt like he sort of understood it, he wanted to hear it directly from her.

"…I didn't."

"Because you felt bad about hurting her brother?"

"Nope." Akaya just simply shook her head.

"Then why?"

"Heh. Why do you want to know?" Akaya smirked.

"Che. Forget about it."

Akaya's phone rang again.

"Hel—"

"AKAYAAAAAAAA!" Sanada hollered on the other side. Akaya put the phone away from her ear and flinched. Echizen was surprised as well.

"Fuck." Akaya's hand shivered. She carefully brought the phone to her ear again. "Wh-What is it fukubuchou?"

"GET OVER HERE RIGHT NOW!" Behind his ever-so-loud voice, Akaya could hear people cracking up in the background.

"I-I'm going!" She squeaked and hurriedly climbed down the tree. Echizen climbed down the tree also. "Echizen. YOU HAVE TO COME WITH ME."

"Wha—no. I'm going to sleep."

"PLEASE." Akaya asked with quivering, sparkling eyes. Without even waiting for his answer, she grabbed Echizen by his wrist, and dragged him back to the cafeteria where the party was being held.

When she stepped into the cafeteria, there was a huge crowd gathered around the center of the stage.

"Eyyyy~ She's here!" Sengoku exclaimed. "Akaya-chan~! Come over here and look at your fukubuchou." Sengoku called her, smirking and snickering in the middle of the sentence.

Akaya, who was curious about what was going on, walked over to the stage. Echizen was curious too. Everyone among the crowd snickered and tried to hold in their laughs. When the crowd parted, it revealed Sanada—who was in a pumpkin costume, rolling around the stage because the pumpkin was too round and big. His arms and legs stuck out awkwardly and the costume covered the rest of his body except his face. And next to him was Kikumaru who was in a tomato costume that looked similar to Sanada's pumpkin costume.

"WAHAHAHHAAHAHAHAHA!" Akaya cracked up and at that moment everyone, who was holding in their laughs, burst out laughing as well. Sanada turned red and continued to yell.

"PFFFFT." Echizen snickered too.

"AKAYAAAAAAA!"

Akaya pulled out her phone, took a shot of a very precious footage of vulnerable pumpkin Sanada in all sorts of angles. She didn't fail to continue to laugh even when she was taking the photo.

"I HAVE TO SEND THIS TO THE OTHERS!" Akaya exclaimed while laughing, almost on the verge of crying because she laughed so hard. "I'LL GROUP MESSAGE THIS!"

"AKAYAAA!"

"It's okay, Akaya. I got your back." Yanagi said, smiling.

"RENJII!"

"How did Sanada-san get into this…?" Echizen asked.

"Well you know how we all put in the raffle tickets? The two people that got picked were to be presented with a surprise?" Kikumaru explained, not affected by the fact that he was in a funny get-up at all. Actually, he was sort of enjoying it.

"We pulled Kirihara's name out, but since she wasn't here we pulled another name out, and it was Sanada!"

"Oh~!" Akaya exclaimed. "Man, aren't you just lucky, fukubuchou?"

"I'm going to make you run 100 laps, Akaya."

"But fukubuchou you look absolutely adorable in that." Said Akaya, and everyone again broke into laughter. Even the stone-face Tezuka was fighting hard to not let a smile creep up on his face.

"Let's see… group chat. Yagyuu-senpai, Niou-senpai, Marui-senpai, Jackal-senpai aaaand Yukimura-buchou." Akaya smirked. "Sent!"

"AKAYAAAA!"

"Fukubuchou, I shouldn't be the only one enjoying this." Akaya smiled evilly. "At least the senpai-tachi should get to see it."

"Ngggh!"

Sanada struggled out of his pumpkin costume.

"Uh-oh." Akaya gulped.

Sanada was half-way out.

"Y-You know I still love you, fukubuchou." Akaya backed up slowly and said, sweat starting to form on her forehead.

Sanada finally got out of his pumpkin costume.

"Aw shiet, gotta move!" Akaya hurried and fled out of the spot, with Yanagi tailing behind her.

FAQ

**Q1: Why is Akaya so OOC? **

Lol. Umm so there have been a lot of opinions on this one and some say that this is so Akaya and some say that she's too OOC. My thought on FEM!AKAYA is it'll be a bit hard to work with a female Akaya who would have the same exact personality/traits as the male Akaya. What I did is thoroughly watch all the animation/manga I could find on Akaya (including OVAs, PairPuris, Specials, movies, profiles and whatnot), took out some major points about him, mixed in some new qualities, and made a FEM!Akaya. I sorta do think that it's random to have her be super smart and a martial artist but that doesn't really change Akaya's character and the plot itself. Either way she, like the he-Akaya, is rash, silly, naïve, serious about tennis, ambitious, and_ adorable._

**Q2: GIVE ME MORE ROMANCEEEE**

Ahaha. Well I do include bits and hints of romance time to time; it's just that for the overall coherence it's more reasonable to have the romance be a bit slow-paced. And come on, they're just what, 14-year-olds. Too young to start a serious relationship. Must focus on tennis and studies. (I sound like Sanada yup) But do not worry! Romance WILL COME in time.

**Q3: WHY IS AKAYA SO STRONGGG**

That was my intention from the beginning. Akaya, if you look at his background of how he came to set the Big Three as his goals and the way he takes the sport, you can tell that he's a hard worker. I mean, (don't mind the swearing) I fucking don't get the fact that he lost to Fuji.

**Q3-1: Why did Akaya achieve the Three Doors so quickly?**

Because she's fucking bad ass.

**Q4: Are you going to follow the PoT storyline exactly?**

This is kind of a spoiler but no because I will adjust things here and there in order to make Akaya's growth as a person and a tennis player more noticeable and reasonable.

**Q5: How long is this going to be? **

Pretty long considering my wanting to cover what was introduced in the anime in both the series and OVAs and movies and such. I was thinking 40 chapters first off but… here I am, about half done and at 37 chapters. I am also thinking about continuing on the story in U-17 camp but the story isn't finished yet so… I am just considering it.

**Q6: Why is Sanada so OOC**

**Sanada is NOT OOC. **I repeat, he is NOT OOC. I portray him the way I do because of what I've been noticing in him through OVAs, pairpuris and such. If you've thoroughly investigated it to a point where you _read PairPuris and side stories in Japanese and understand it, _then you may judge him to be OOC, I won't complain. And plus Akaya's a girl, not a guy. It would be silly for him to act the same way to a girl the way he would to a guy. Plus why would you complain about Sanada being OOC when he's being such a good father. I mean fukubuchou.


	39. The Lucky Seven

Lucifer of Rikkaidai

Chapter 39: The Lucky Seven

After Tezuka arrived, Atobe and Sanada became most conscious of Tezuka's presence. The two even played a match, going against the rule of 'no match without the coaches' approval,' and getting in trouble at the end.

"Everyone's really into it, aren't they?" Echizen said as they waited in line for the ball machine.

"You're relaxed, aren't you?" Kikumaru said.

"He should be, since he'll definitely be picked considering his past record." Momoshiro said.

"Well there's Kirihara too." Shishido said, eyeing Akaya, who was hitting against the ball machine. "I don't know what she's thinking by only sticking to textbook moves, but… I've heard some things about her."

"If we don't make ourselves as appealing as possible, we won't have a chance." Kajimoto said. Then he went up to the baseline as Akaya moved out after hitting 20 balls. Instead of going against the wall where everyone was standing, she jogged around the track once.

She came back to the end of the line and stretched.

"Alright I'm going to run a lap too!" Momoshiro and Kikumaru took off, leaving Echizen behind.

"Hey, Kirihara. Do you know if Tezuka-san decided the players to represent already?" Ootori asked when Akaya sat down and stretched.

"Nooo idea."

"I see… not even the Seigaku regulars know."

"He's not the person to let that slip so I doubt we'll find out until they actually announce it." She said, standing up and stretching.

"That's true."

"So, do you think you'll be picked?" She asked, putting her hands behind her head.

"I don't know… I hope I do, though. We all came here because we wanted to be picked, right?" He said with a determined look.

'_I-I'm not so sure about the "all" part.' _Akaya thought.

"How about you, Kirihara? Do you think you'll be picked?" He asked.

"Ehhh~ I don't know~ hehe." She grinned. Kajimoto came back after hitting 20 balls and Echizen stepped in.

"I mean, you're always so relaxed while everyone's tense showing off what they can do. Echizen is too, since he'll be picked for sure considering his past record."

"Relaxed? I guess for the most part." She said. "I am trying, already having in mind that I can be selected."

"Really? But you're not showing off any best shots. You're hiding it."

"The point of this camp is that instead of impressing them with all these crazy shots, we're showing them what we're capable of. And they can tell from way you address the coaches and the players as well as the practices they hold for you. So I think I've been giving all I've got for this camp." She grinned.

"How are you going to appeal to the coaches then?"

"I'm appealing by focusing on my practices I guess. Showing off your best moves doesn't always mean that you're practicing well. That's what Sanada fukubuchou told me."

"But there are people that are obviously going to be more appealing than you are if you don't show it off." Ootori said, slightly confused.

"That's why you trust the coaches to spot you. I trust that Coach Tezuka will realize my abilities." She grinned. "To be honest, running laps you usually don't and hitting shots you usually don't hit that strong doesn't help you at all when it comes down to matches. You just gotta do what you usually do and stick to it."

"But it seems like he's only looking at one person so he doesn't know what you do all the time."

"He does, you just don't know it. That's why he's a coach." She blinked as a matter-of-fact.

"What if you're not selected? Won't you be disappointed?"

"I will be disappointed, but since I know I tried my hardest I won't feel sad. But no worries! Like I said, I will be selected for sure." She said proudly. "I am from Rikkaidai, after all. I trust in me and Sanada fukubuchou and Yanagi-senpai. So you should trust yourself too."

Ootori smiled in defeat, completely convinced by Akaya. Tezuka, who stood a couple feet away, carefully listened to their conversation and kept it in his mind.

It was finally the day in which Tezuka had to pick two people from his group that he thought should go out to represent.

On the roster sheet he first immediately checked the box next to Akaya's name. Then he checked off the box next to Kikumaru's name. He then moved his pencil next to Echizen's box—only to stop mid-way and put the paper away.

He stood up and went to the other two coaches to turn the sheet in.

"Hm? You didn't recommend Echizen-kun!" Hanamura pointed out.

"Yes; I am aware. A player that does not take the match seriously has no chance of winning."

The coaches came up with a finalized sheet of paper with 6 players' names on it.

Each explained a reason why they picked a certain player.

"Now Tezuka-kun, why did you recommend Kirihara-kun and Sengoku-kun?"

"I recommended Kikumaru because he was capable of bringing out the best in his doubles partner. Not only is he competent in agility and volleying, he was also a team promoter." He explained.

"Very well. We need a person that will brighten up the team, of course." The coaches nodded.

"And I picked Kirihara purely because she has grown to be a terrific player and will continue to grow."

"How so?"

"Although she had ambition and diligence to begin with, the Kirihara I knew from the past matches was a stubborn, brash and naïve player. But now she is mentally mature, modest, patient, dedicated, and more diligent than before. Her attitude throughout this camp impressed me. And plus…" He trailed off.

"Plus?" The coaches wondered.

"She is purely talented in tennis." He said, thinking of the time when she unlocked Hyakuren for a split second.

"I see. It seems like you've gotten a great liking into her, Tezuka-kun. You praised her a lot." Hanamura said.

"I am observing her a lot more carefully, yes." Tezuka nodded.

"Great. Then now let's decide the final player and the reserve player."

* * *

><p>"Aaah finally! We're out!" Akaya said as she zipped up her bag. She and An had cleaned up the room before leaving since it was their last day.<p>

"Huhu. It's not your last day if you've been picked!" An said.

"You're right." She laughed. "Alright, let's head out."

The players lined up like they did when they first arrived at the camp.

They announced the players.

"Kirihara Akaya. Sanada Genichirou. Atobe Keigo. Oshitari Yuushi. Kikumaru Eiji. Sengoku Kiyosumi." Sakaki announced. "And the last person is… Fuji Syuusuke."

An ominous atmosphere surrounded Seigaku regulars.

"Eh? Yanagi-senpai wasn't chosen!" Akaya whispered.

"I already asked Coach Sakaki to exclude me from his list of recommended players." Yanagi said. "But I have to say, I can't agree more with the line-up of these selected players."

"I see."

"I will notify these seven players later on, and you must train extensively for the upcoming match. That is all. Thank you all for attending."

"Thank you very much!"

They all got ready to go home.

"Kirihara!" Ootori called her.

"Hm? Oh, hey Ootori."

"Congratulations Kirihara. Congratulations Sanada-san."

"Thanks."

"Thank you."

"It seems that Tezuka-san really did notice everything you did." He said. "But I still don't get why Echizen didn't get selected…"

"Yeah, I wonder why…" Although Akaya said such a thing, she had a pretty good guess why.

"Then I'll see you play at the match! Good luck!" He said.

"Heh~ If it isn't Sanada and Kirihara." Atobe came over and gave off his signature smirk. "To think that you two were selected along with this Ore-sama…"

"What do you want, narcissist monkey diva." Akaya glared and growled at Atobe. No matter how much she saw him throughout the camp, she just could not get used to his boastful behavior.

"Singles one will be me."

"No, it will be fukubuchou." Akaya rolled her eyes. "I heard that fukubuchou was winning. You know he has more things up his sleeves."

"I do too."

"But he was winning."

"You never know until the end."

"But he _was_ winning."

"…"

Oshitari snickered behind Atobe.

"Shut up, Oshitari." Atobe said, trying to hold in his anger.

"Well, just pray to the gods that you'll play in singles." Atobe said and walked away. Akaya glared at his back and stuck up both of her middle fingers.

"Akaya." Sanada flicked her forehead.

"Owie. BUT FUKUBUCHOU I HATE THAT GUY! HE'S UGLY, HE'S NARCISSISTIC, AND HIS PERSONALITY'S SHITTY AS HELL! POOR KABAJI ALWAYS CARRIES HIS STUPID BAG AROUND!" She said loudly on purpose for Atobe to hear it. Atobe's group, while walking away, broke into laughter.

"Don't mind a guy like that, Akaya." Yanagi chuckled and ruffled her hair.

"Thanks."

Akaya, Sanada, and Yanagi got on the bus and headed home.

"Akaya, do you think you have an idea why Tezuka didn't pick Echizen?" Sanada asked, trying to see if she could answer properly.

"Hm… I'm not sure but I have a pretty good guess."

"Give it a shot."

"From what I've been noticing, Echizen hasn't been very… how should I put this… enthusiastic." She said. "I feel like he's gotten a bit less serious after Kantou tournament. Which I do not like, because he is showing such attitude after beating fukubuchou." She slightly pouted at the end.

"That's right." Sanada nodded. "Echizen is technically the number one in junior high tennis. But in order for the winner to keep a title as a winner he needs to have passion burning for matches but that flame died out."

Akaya nodded as well. "Well _I _sure as hell ain't going to act like that for sure!" She said, clenching her fists. "I still have people to beat!"

The two upperclassmen chuckled.

"That's the spirit, Akaya."

Sanada then remembered.

"_How rare for you to come and talk to me in private, Tezuka." Sanada said. It was around 9 o'clock on the second to last day at the selections camp._

"_Is that so?" _

"_Yes. So, what is it that you want to talk about?" Sanada crossed his arms and asked. _

"_I was wondering if Kirihara has unlocked the second and third door yet." Tezuka said. "I've seen her activate Hyakuren for a split second." _

"_So she did end up using it, didn't she." Sanada sighed. _

"_After using it she never used it again. I see your intentions of not showing anything until nationals." Tezuka said. "She wisely chose to not reveal herself." _

"_All I can is that she's got a great potential. I am not afraid to say that she has more potential than Echizen." He stated. Tezuka lifted his eyebrow._

"_Hou… Well I just wanted to say that she has matured quite a bit after the last time I saw her." _

_Sanada nodded. "She is not the same as before." _

"_During the practice I heard her talk to her peer. She said that "showing off moves won't do any good" and that "the coaches will acknowledge you for what you usually do." I must admit, I was surprised to hear a girl like her say such a wise thing."_

"_She may be rash and slightly hard to control time to time, but her mentality is worthy of praise." Sanada agreed. "To be honest, I was surprised to hear that also."_

"_It seems that you've taught her a lot." _

"_No, it's all on her. She practiced harder than anyone can ever imagine."_

"_I see." _

"_Echizen's not the only one that grew… Akaya grew as well. We're just hiding her for now." Sanada said. Thinking of Akaya just brought a smile to his face. Tezuka stared at him for a while._

"_You've gotten soft, Sanada." _

_Sanada snapped out and brought out his stern face again._

"_Eh-hem. I wouldn't be talking, Tezuka."_

"It seems that Tezuka's gotten quite a liking into you." Sanada said and Akaya just blinked.

"Me?"

Sanada nodded.

"Well of course, it is the great second-year ace Kirihara Akaya! Muhahaha!" She laughed.

"There's more to it than that, but yes, he thinks you're a good player."

"Really? Did you talk to him?"

"Y-Yes."

"Oooooh so you talked to him! I thought you two didn't get along well."

"More or less."


	40. Americans

Chapter 40: Americans + I'm back?

"Wow, a blondie"

"Shh." Sanada put a soft clout to a curly-haired girl's head. He wouldn't mind having her say those things normally, but it _was _during a before-match team-greeting where they faced each other. It had been a week after she and Sanada have been selected as players for the Junior Invitationals Team.

"Psh, they can't understand me anyways, fukubuchou."

"**What's that short girl doing there? Is she gonna play?" **

"**She's cute!"**

"They said I'm cute." Akaya gleamed, rather pleased by a compliment.

"**I heard she's actually in the line-up" **

"**Bullshit, she looks weak"**

"Hey what are they saying now?" Sengoku asked.

Akaya's veins popped.

"**Hey." **Akaya glared at them. **"Go fuck y—"**

Just before she completed her sentence of malice and stuck up her middle finger Sanada blocked her mouth with one hand and grabbed her hand with his other, scolding her.

"Still with bad manners, huh?" Atobe said has he held in a laugh.

"Not "bad," it's called accommodating, you stupid monkey king."

"M-Monkey King?!"

"And I thought you'd be used to me calling you that by now." She shook her head lightly. "Denial is another form of acceptance you know."

"Why you little!"

"We will begin now." The referee said, half-forcing Atobe to collect his composure. The representatives shook hands and the team went back to their benches.

"You're up. Sanada, Atobe." Coach Sakaki said.

"Good luck fukubuchou~! Don't break your back carrying Monkey King!"

"Nnngghhh…!" Atobe and Akaya glared at each other as the pair walked out to the court.

"Aahahah" Akaya chuckled. It was just too fun teasing the monkey king.

"Pfft." She glanced to her left and she could _swear _she heard Tezuka muffle a laugh. Good thing she's not the only one enjoying it.

The score was down to 2-1, with Japan in the lead. They just needed to win one more singles game to win the tournament.

"I wonder who's going to play the last match?" Marui said, sitting in the spectators' seat with the rest of the Rikkaidai members.

"Echizen and Akaya… they're both strong players."

"Of course Akaya's going up." Said Yanagi. "Tezuka will favor Akaya over Echizen for this match."

"Akaya." Sanada called her. "Whether you are chosen to play or not, being a part of this team was a good experience for you to grow as a player."

"Heh. I know. But I'll get chosen, fukubuchou." She said rather confidently.

"Ready your heart, just in case."

"Yeah yeah~"

On the scoreboard, the two names of the players showed up: Smith, Kevin and Krihara Akaya.

"You're up, Akaya."

"Alriiiiiiiiight. Let's do this~"

She walked up to the court and faced a blonde-haired boy, just barely taller than her.

"**I still can't believe he's not playing!" **He said, clearly angry and irritated.

"**Nope, I'm your opponent." **

"**This is ridiculous! Playing a girl!? I didn't come all the way to Asia to play a girl! I need to play Ryoma Echizen!" **

"**Yaddy yadda blah blah. Okay are we done complaining here? Let's start." **

Akaya just brushed off his rude comments and made her way to the service line.

"You'll regret looking down on me, you blondie."

The game played out smoothly; Akaya, without showing too much, faced Kevin with a move she came up just for a lefty: phantom ball.

She was up 2-1, when she glanced over to her teammates and saw Ryoma looking bored and rather down.

"…Hm." She thought for a moment. "Aha!"

She ran to receive a drop, but unable to stop herself she ended up colliding dead-on with the pole. The game went downhill from that point;

"I don't think she's holding well, Sanada!" Kikumaru said as he shuffled his feet in worry.

"That's enough." Tezuka said to Akaya as she walked over to the bench while wiping her sweat. "Referee, we need a time out for a medical treatment."

A while later, Akaya's shoulder ended up in bandages.

"You're subbing out." Tezuka said.

"You're kidding!"

"You're subbing out. There's no point in continuing this match."

"…Then the match…!"

"They will do something. But you will not play again. Not with that injury."

"Baker-san wanted to bring out Echizen Ryoma to sub in for Kirihara!" One of the managers came in and said. "Please, hurry up and decide!"

"…Very well." Sakaki said. "Let Echizen know he is playing."

The manager left. Akaya stood up and put her jacket back on, walking out of the infirmary with Tezuka, Sakaki, and Sanada. They passed by Echizen in the hallway.

"Echizen. You have to win."

"You just concentrate on getting better." He said, and walked away towards the courts.

"I will take her to the hospital." The doctor said. "You three can return to the match."

"Please take care of her." Sanada said, and left to the courts with Tezuka and Sakaki. "Give me a call when you're done, Akaya."

"Alright fukubuchou."

Akaya left to the hospital with the doctor and the nurse.

—In the hospital

"…You're not injured?"

"Nope!"

"..."

"Hehehehe. I'm sorry about that! But I kinda needed Echizen to play that Kevin dude and I needed an excuse to get out of it."

"Kirihara-kun!"

"I'm sorry!"

The doctor just sighed. "Well I am glad that you're alright. I'll let your captain know—"

"NO IT'S OKAY." She replied immediately. _'I'll get slapped for sure…!' _She shivered in fear. Maybe she should've thought of a better alternative. Or maybe he'll understand?

"I-I'll just let him know myself. He's probably busy watching the game a nyways."

"Well if you say so."

"Then, I'll return to the courts! The match should be done soon."

"Alright, you take care."

"Thank you, Doctor!"

Akaya went back to the stadium, just in time to witness the last game between the two. Echizen had won.

"Che, I'm just too nice sometimes." She mumbled to herself. She left to join the other Rikkaidai members outside of the stadium.

"Seeenpaaaaiii tachiiii~~!"

"AKAYA!"

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, RUNNING AROUND LIKE THIS!?"

"YOUR SHOULDER!"

The members all freaked out.

"Nah, I'm fine. It's not too bad. I just can't raise my arm for a couple days." She said, thinking that she should probably go along with the scenario she created to avoid being scolded.

"Jeesh, having us worry like that!" Niou landed a karate chop to her head and said scornfully.

"Sorry, sorry."

"Hey, there they are" Marui pointed at the team walking out from the stadium. They all walked over to the team.

"Akaya!" Sanada noticed her right away. "What happened?! Why are you not in the hospital!?"

"Uhhh the doctor said it's not too bad. I just can't raise my arm for a couple days. No big deal~"

"Are you really alright?" Tezuka asked.

"Yup! Sorry for worrying you guys." She said. "Speaking of which, ECHIZEN! I SAW YOU WIN!"

"Yeah…?"

"GOOD JOB! I knew you'd win! Aren't you glad I subbed out. HIGH FIVE! AHAHAHA" She raised her right hand high, anticipating a high-five from Echizen. Instead of a high-five, she was greeted by a hand suddenly clenching her wrist and swaying it around back and forth from behind.

'_Uh-oh.' _She gulped. _'I hope it's not what I'm thinking.'_

She slowly turned her head around and saw Sanada's firing glaze piercing down at her. Sanada let her hand go, clenching the bridge of his nose.

"Akaya…" Sanada barely managed to let out with his teeth clenched.

"Uh… hehehe. Ouchie?" She gulped. Sweat started to form on her forehead. Slowly, she started taking steps back.

"AKAYAAAAAA!"

"WAGH! FU-FUKUBUCHOU WHY ARE YOU SO MAD!? I-I'M INJURED!"

"GET BACK HERE KIRIHARA AKAYA!"

"Wh-what's going on…?" Jackal said.

"Seems like Akaya pretended to be injured." Yanagi said.

"Why would she do that?"

"To let Echizen play. 79% chance she was too shy to actually tell us and 100% chance she was scared of Genichirou finding out."

"So she did that on purpose for Ochibi~" Kikumaru cooed. "Isn't that great, Ryoma-chan?"

"Shut up, Senpai." He just growled and sipped on his ponta.

They laughed and watched the so-called one of the stoic Big-Three of Rikkaidai chase around a small girl while yelling and screaming.

* * *

><p>I'm back?<p>

Hello readers, it's been a while (a pretty long while).

I apologize for going MIA + AWOL but I just simply lost interest in the fandom, you see. But thankfully I'm starting to get back into it just a bit, and I think I'll be updating starting from today.

**MAKE SURE TO VOTE! Remake or continue? **


	41. Getting Ready for Nationals

Lucifer of Rikkaidai

Chapter 41: Getting Ready for Nationals

"Nationals tournament is in 2 weeks. For our 3rd victory, we will now hold a practice session every day, including weekends." Yukimura said. He was back in his yellow Rikkaidai jersey, not forgetting to drape the jacket over his shoulders.

A bit after the junior invitational tournament, the regulars had gathered in the club shack by the tennis courts after practice to discuss further plans before nationals.

"It'll be held in Tokyo, about an hour drive from here. Since it is quite costly to go back and forth for the entire time, we'll stay at an inn. Our team budget can cover the cost so no need to bring any money."

"Yay."

"Akaya, the room we're renting will probably be a Japanese-style large room big enough to fit 10 people. We'll have dividers for you so ask your mother for permission. If not we'll get you a separate room."

"Okay~"

"Then that's it for today. Let's go eat dinner!"

After having a delicious meal with the team, Akaya headed home.

"I'm hooome~"

"Welcome back."

"Oh yeah, mom." Akaya said, coming back down from the stairs after realizing something.

"Hmm?"

"For the national tournament, we were going to stay at an inn. And buchou said to ask you if it's okay to rent a large room for everyone to share since I'll have dividers. If it's not then he said he could rent another room."

"Aren't Renji-kun and Genichirou-kun going?"

"Mmhm."

"Then no worries~ they're like your older brothers, I can trust them." She said, smiling.

"Okay, I'll tell buchou."

* * *

><p>Nationals drew closer and the Rikkaidai team worked at their top efforts in order to secure their 3rd victory at nationals.<p>

"How does it look, Renji?"

"Statistics of the entire members have gone up an average of 30%. We have high chances in winning." He flipped through his notebook and said.

"Including against Seigaku? Tezuka might come back—no he will definitely come back." Sanada crossed his arms and asked.

"Seigaku is definitely an obstacle. There is about 65% chance of facing them in the final round and I'm still working around the ladder. And speaking of the ladder…"

"I was thinking of letting Akaya play singles 1." Yukimura said.

"Hm." Sanada just nodded. "Surely, Akaya does have experiences in battling Echizen. However…"

"You're concerned over how strong Echizen has gotten, right?" Yanagi said.

"Right, since he's been on a winning streak for quite some time now, not to mention going to US Open as well."

"Just as he's been growing, Akaya's been growing too, and I'm certain that the training regimen she does every day surpasses that of anyone we'll be facing. It's impossible to not improve after doing all that work."

"Yeah, I was surprised by how much she does too." Yukimura said. "I'm sure our Junior Ace has a chance. Plus, she'll be the one leading Rikkaidai next year. I want her to experience it."

Assured by the two friends' words, Sanada finally smiled and nodded. "Very well."

"Do you think Seigaku will be able to guess our line-ups, Renji?" Yukimura asked Yanagi.

"It's highly likely that they're assuming that you will play singles 1." Yanagi said. "And Genichirou will play singles 2, and Akaya will play singles 3. Echizen will be playing singles 1, and Tezuka will probably play singles 2. Their line-up is very likely solid."

"So no matter what, Echizen is playing singles 1." Sanada confirmed.

"Correct."

"Then that settles it." Yukimura said. "Our Junior Ace is playing singles 1 in the final round."

* * *

><p>"Aaaaaah. What a day!" Akaya exclaimed as she set her feet onto the warm, soft sand. "Buchou the water is so clear!"<p>

"Huhu. You're right, it's really clear." Yukimura chuckled, giving off a fatherly smile from watching the girl being excited.

"_The beach?" Everyone said in unison. Yukimura nodded with a smile. _

"_I promised Akaya that I'd take her to the beach. Plus we'll have KBBQ. I think it's a good way to relax before the big tournament."_

_Everyone's face lit up in excitement. _

"_It'll be a one-day trip. We'll have fun so don't get sick!"_

And here they were, at a beach not too far away from their school. The weather was great and the water temperature was just adequate.

They all helped in setting up everything—the parasols, towels, foldable chairs, and snacks that they had brought.

"Alright~ now I'm going in!" Marui took his shirt off and ran to the water first.

"Wait me too!" Jackal followed along.

"Wait Marui-senpai you'll turn brown like Jackal-senpai!" Akaya yelled as she sprayed on sunscreen but Marui was too excited to let anything stop him from splashing his way into the ocean.

"Alright I'm going in too!" Akaya said, standing up after spraying her back.

She first took off her shorts, which caught the attention of Sanada the father, and took off her shirt, which revealed Akaya in a red bikini top and black hipster briefs. Niou's eyes widened and Sanada stared in terror.

"W-Wait, Akaya!"

"Yeeeeaaaahhhh waaaterrrr!" She yelled as she ran towards the ocean.

"Young lady, put your shirt back on!" Sanada yelled, waving her shirt around in the air vigorously.

"Why, I don't mind." Niou said slyly, taking his shirt off as well. "She's got a nice body."

"No one asked for your opinion!" Sanada yelled, fuming in anger.

"Calm down, Sanada." Yukimura said. "It's not like anyone would dare to pull anything funny." Yukimura put on a cold smile and made the other regulars flinch.

"THE WATER'S GREEEAAATT!" Akaya yelled as she waved her hands in the air.

About 2 hours passed and it was time for lunch. Yukimura and Marui had brought packed lunch they made for the regulars to eat.

"It looks so good…!" Akaya said, almost drooling. "Thank you for the food!"

While eating lunch, Akaya stood up and put her shoes on.

"Where're you going?"

"Restroom~"

"You know where it is?"

"Yeah, it's right there."

She walked away after putting on a cover-up around her waist.

"Shouldn't we follow her?" Jackal asked.

"Nah, she'll be fine." They all said.

"If anything we'll need to go to protect the guy from getting beaten up too much." Niou said.

"Look, she's already getting hit on!" Marui said, pointing. All the regulars turned their heads to where Marui pointed and noticed that a group of guys were trying to flirt with her. After a while they just left, looking disappointed.

"See, she's got it!" Marui said.

"She's getting hit on more at the beach. I saw one trying to flirt when we were in the water too." Jackal said.

"In my opinion, she is getting more attention from opposite genders because she's in a bikini." Yagyuu said which surprised everyone. "It is true that men are more attracted to women with good figure, who is in revealing clothing even more so."

They all stayed silent, staring at Yagyuu as if he grew another head. They never thought Yagyuu the Gentleman, of all people, would make such a remark.

"It's proven by a scientific study." He said rather indifferently, adjusting his glasses.

"Well it is true that she's got a nice body." Marui said.

"From what my data suggests, her height is 165 centimeters, weight 49 kilograms with 17% body fat. That is very ideal." Yanagi added.

"She's growing into a fine lady." Yukimura put on a fatherly smile. "Which makes me curious; do any of you have feelings for her? Or an interest maybe?"

They all pinned their attention on Niou, who fidgeted a bit after noticing all the gazes.

"Wh-What."

"We all know that a certain tricksterhas a thing for our little junior ace." Marui said teasingly.

"W-What are you talking about?" He blurted out although he tried to remain calm.

"Well then is it okay if I hit on her?" Marui retorted, surprising Niou.

"WHAT!?"

"And that's the answer." Marui said much simply.

"Che. Then what about you guys? It's true that she's the only girl and I mean, _the only girl_ that we interact with almost every single day." Niou stated. "What about you, Sanada?"

"What are you implying." He glared.

"I'm implying that maybe our fuku-buchou might have a thing for our Akaya." Niou shrugged his shoulders and stated much simply.

"Tarundoru!" He yelled. "Akaya is my kouhai! She is of equal as my little daught—I mean, sister. Right, Renji?"

Yanagi nodded as well. "The possibility of me developing a romantic feeling towards Akaya is about 1.7%."

"It is true that I view her more as a sister." Jackal added also. "You know, the one that you always have to look out for since you don't know just where she's going to bounce."

"What about you, Marui. You get along awfully well with her." Niou said.

"Do I really?" Marui blinked.

"You're the one that's around her the most."

"Well I think of Akaya as my brother. And she thinks of me as her sister." He stated. "It's really hard to imagine developing feelings for her. Which reminds me… what's her ideal type? Yanagi, do you have any idea?"

"Good question." Yanagi said. "I have not researched that quite yet, but I also don't have an idea how I'd collect information regarding her ideal type. Should I ask her?"

"Ask what?" Akaya joined in on the conversation after her restroom break.

"Oh, we were just wondering what your ideal type was." Marui said.

"My ideal type? Hmmmm…" She pondered. Everyone's attention pinned on her as they waited patiently. "Good question! Um… I don't know. Hehe." She said smugly, scratching her head. The regulars all sighed.

"What about Tezuka Kunimitsu?" Marui asked.

"Ooh! Tezuka-san! I admire him very much. I really want to play him one day."

"No, not as a tennis player, as a guy."

"Uhhhhhhhhhh… Well he _is_ very good looking." She stated.

"True, true." They all agreed.

"What about Atobe? He's good-loo—"

Akaya's face was immediately covered in disgust.

"Okay that was easy."

"What about Echizen Ryoma?" Jackal asked.

"But he's just a kid."

"How about Ootori Choutarou? You know, the super tall one from Hyotei." Marui asked this time.

"Ooh, yeah he was very nice! One of the very few people I can put up with in Hyotei." She said.

"Would you see yourself dating him?" Marui asked again.

"Not really?"

"What about Fuji Syuusuke?'

"I think he'd be a good sister."

"What about Momoshiro?"

"Nah."

"Kajimoto?"

"Who was that again?"

"Kaidoh?"

"Meh."

"Kabaji?"

"What the hell!?"

"I think we just have to conclude that Akaya has no interest in getting a boyfriend for now." Marui said, shaking his head and everyone nodded along. "Maybe if we get to nationals we'll find more candidates."

'_Wait what about me?!' _Niou slightly freaked out.

"Akaya, d-do you want a boyfriend?" Sanada asked, a bit nervous. It'd break his heart to hear his daught—I mean, sister say that she wants to have a boyfriend.

"Meh, I don't really care. I'd rather play tennis." She shrugged her shoulders and said, biting into a freshly cut piece of watermelon.

"That's the spirit, Akaya!" Sanada brightened up and praised her. "Dating is something young scholars must avoid in order to focus everything one has in order to achieve greater goals."

'_S-So old-fashioned…'_

The regulars continued relaxing by the beach after eating lunch.

"Hey Sanada, come for a little sand bath?" Marui called him over and said while Akaya, Jackal, and Niou buried Marui and Yagyuu in sand. "It feels really nice~"

"It helps your muscles relax." Niou added as well.

"Hm. I shall give it a try."

"I got you fuku-buchou!" Akaya said gleefully and started pouring sand on Sanada. She even made a sand pillow for him in case he wanted to take a nap. Feeling cozy and warm in sand, Sanada dozed off to sleep.

"Is he asleep?" Marui whispered.

"Yeah."

The two chuckled rather evilly as they grabbed flowers and shells.

Sanada woke up after hearing giggles and snickers. When he opened his eyes, his hat was gone but he had sunglasses on.

"Akaya, how do I get out?"

"AHAHAHAH!" The regulars all broke out laughing. Sanada raised his head a little and saw two big peaks of sand with shells on top resting above his chest.

Marui and Akaya got creative and had turned Sanada's sand bath into a seductive mermaid.

"Fuku-buchou! HAHAH! You're AHAHA! Too sexy!" Akaya managed to let out in between her laughs.

"You guys did a fantastic job sculpting out of sand." Yukimura said, taking pictures from all angles with his camera. "This would be a very good contribution to our end-of-the-year album."

"This is even better than his pumpkin costume back in the selections camp." Yanagi said, chuckling.

"AKAYAAAAAAA!"

"Hehe. Not scary at all, fuku-buchou. You can't move." She said.

Sanada's veins started popping. He roared and moved around and his beautiful mermaid body started getting cracks everywhere. The partners-in-crime (Marui, Niou, and Akaya) all flinched and started taking steps back, little by little.

"W-Wait. It wasn't my idea, fuku-buchou. N-Niou-senpai wanted to do it." Akaya waved her hands in front of her, pointing at Niou.

"Yeah but you wanted the mermaid. And the moustache. And… the boobs in sea shell bikinis." Niou said, backing away too as Sanada's true flesh revealed, little by little. Within a few seconds he was able to completely escape the sand and stand up, taking off his sunglass with a moustache attached to it.

"A-Ahaha." She gulped and started sweating nervously.

"I told you, Akaya. You're so dead." Jackal mumbled.

"AKAYAAAAA!"

"WAGH!" Akaya flinched and started running towards the sea, with Sanada storming behind her. The regulars all watched as Sanada got a hold of Akaya, raised her up, and threw her far away into the ocean.

"Well that was a great footage." Yanagi said, pressing a button on his camcorder.

"This is so going up on our school page." Jackal said, ending the recording on his cellphone as well.

"I'm glad we got a group picture before Sanada woke up." Yukimura said, smiling as he looked at the picture that he asked a stranger to take for the entire team plus Sanada in a mermaid body.


	42. Toward Their Goal

Lucifer of Rikkaidai

Chapter 42: Toward their Goal

It was about 2 weeks before the nationals. The Rikkaidai regulars, as always, put in their utmost effort in practicing tennis to ensure their 3rd consecutive victory at nationals.

"Buchou." Akaya called Yukimura as he was getting ready to leave after practice.

"What's up Akaya?" He replied, smiling as usual.

"Please play a match with me." Akaya said with seriousness that was usually absent in her. Yukimura was rather surprised, but smiled nonetheless; he knew it was coming sooner or later.

"Of course, I was looking forward to it too." Yukimura said. "Tomorrow practice we were going to play practice matches and we can play then, so bring in your best effort."

"Thank you buchou!" Akaya gleamed, sincerely happy to be able to play Yukimura.

The day after—

"Yukimura and Akaya?!" They all stood in shock as the two players walked into the court with their rackets ready.

"Akaya's really going at it, huh." Niou chuckled, seeing Akaya's face full of determination.

"Yanagi, what do you think?" Marui asked Yanagi, who was just watching silently.

"Currently Akaya is of equal, if not greater, in terms of skill with Genichirou. It's just that she lacks experience… and Seiichi has both skill and experience. I would say the percentage of her winning is about 32%."

"Eh, that's quite a low number."

"It is, but considering how she's playing Seiichi, that number alone speaks a lot. The number itself gives her that much possibility of winning." Yanagi said. "But the outcome of this match is as clear as day. Seiichi will win. And I think Akaya knows that somewhere inside as well."

"Well, she's been working extra hard since Yukimura was discharged. You know her monstrous menu that she's been doing? She's apparently doing that two times a day now."

"Hou…" Yanagi was a bit surprised, since Akaya didn't speak much of her training regimen recently. He just assumed that she was performing the same regimen since she tripled the already-doubled menu. "Well, I would have to recalculate then."

"Yukimura's definitely not going to go easy on her though." Jackal said. "Even for her sake, Yukimura's going to go all out."

"Yeah, I'm kinda worried though." Marui said, slightly frowning. "'Mura's tennis is pretty scary."

Yukimura and Akaya met at the net to spin the racket. Akaya put the racket head on the ground and held it by the handle, ready to spin.

"Before we start, Akaya," Yukimura said, "just keep in mind that whatever you come across, whatever that might happen, you must overcome it… I'm going to go all out. Imagine as if this is the final deciding match of the final round in nationals."

Akaya gulped, getting slightly nervous by Yukimura's seriousness. Then she cracked a smile.

"I was ready for anything the moment I stepped into this club." She said. "Don't worry buchou, I'll show you what I'm capable of."

"I'm looking forward to it."

"Which?" Akaya smiled and spun her racket.

"Smooth."

The racket landed with a clatter, and Akaya picked it up.

"Rough. I'll serve."

"Alright."

She grabbed the balls and walked over to the baseline, stretching her arms and neck. Across the net on the other side of the green court stood Yukimura Seiichi, the Child of God, the strongest of the Big Three, his overwhelming presence blurring out the rest of the world.

She took a moment to indulge in a thought. Yukimura Seiichi, her beloved mentor and friend, who fought off even the deadliest illness and came back miraculously to win Nationals with the team, was standing in front of her as her opponent. She had always had him on her side as her support, but this time was different. She was all alone in the court. Her teammates rooted for both of them and truth be told, she already expected the outcome.

However, she came so far—her journey, her life, her everything for the past few months especially revolved around tennis and she started off by setting the Big Three as her ultimate goal. She struggled with Red Eye Mode, the rumors and gossips she had to endure from all sorts of people because of it, and a painful loss at the Kantou tournament. She overcame all the obstacles and reached an inevitable truth: hard work never fails.

She swore the day she was accepted to become a regular that she'd work to overcome the Big Three before they graduated. To overcome the Big Three she worked day and night—started off by doubling a menu that even the regulars found hard, and ended up tripling it. Then, after seeing Yukimura fight through a surgery and an excruciating rehabilitation process, she started doing two sets of the said menu every day.

"_Ooooh! And this was just 2 years ago?" Akaya exclaimed, staring into a picture amusingly. It was a picture of the Big Three after winning the National Tournament in their freshman year. Yukimura was holding a plaque, Yanagi a Rikkaidai school flag, and Sanada a trophy. _

"_Fuku-buchou…" Akaya trailed off, looking back and forth at the picture and the current 3__rd__ year Sanada Genichirou._

"_What is it, Akaya?" _

"_Um… so… when did you hit a menopause?"_

_At that everyone cracked up into a fit of laughter. _

"_AKAYAAAA!"_

"_UWAHH! HELP ME BUCHOU!"_

"_Maa, Sanada. I think it's a way of Akaya complimenting you that you looked charming in your younger days." He said, laughing while trying to calm down Sanada as Akaya hid behind him._

Akaya realized that Yukimura was always the one smiling, always the one caring for her, and always the one laughing to her bratty and capricious remarks. If she had to pick one person to rely on the team for both emotional and mental support, it would be Yukimura Seiichi.

'_Yukimura-buchou is an incredible person…' _Akaya thought, gripping the ball in her hand. _'And it makes me want to win against you more and more!'_

Akaya bounced the ball on the ground, getting ready to serve.

'_I will give it my best. The best I've ever given. And I will win.' _

She tossed the ball up, and served.

* * *

><p>Rikkaidai had a BYE the first round so instead they went around observing matches of the schools that they might potentially face later on. Akaya was with Sanada and Yanagi, watching Higa and Rokkaku play. Seigaku was there too in order to cheer on Rokkaku.<p>

Higa seemed to be using some trick of sorts that enabled them to move around the court in a mere second.

"Whoa. How are they doing that?"

"They're using martial arts." Yanagi said. "It's a trick to the eye of sorts, there's nothing too special behind it. But they _are _experts in martial arts."

"Martial arts and tennis… interesting." Akaya nodded while carefully observing the Higa players. Then suddenly, one of their singles players hit a ball towards Rokkaku's old coach, knocking him off the bench.

"Man, they're the worst." Akaya frowned.

"Disrespecting the elderly… tarundoru." Sanada said as well.

Akaya was glaring at the Higa player until a tennis ball whizzed past him, making a big hole in the bush behind him.

"Huh?" She traced the ball to where it came from and on the other side of the court was a small boy in a white, baggy jacket and a familiar white hat.

"Hey, isn't that Echizen!?" Everyone in Seigaku was thrilled to see their rookie.

"Like you said, Yanagi-senpai. He's back." Akaya said while watching the Seigaku players crowding around the super rookie.

* * *

><p>"Our first match is against Murigaoka." Yukimura announced after coming back from submitting their line-up. "Akaya, I'm sitting you out until semi-finals, so bear with us for a bit, okay?"<p>

"Okay." Akaya answered. It's not like it mattered since the other schools weren't going to put up that much of a fight anyways.

"Alright everyone." Yukimura said as they all gathered in a circle. "I'm not going to say much. Play like you would normally; losing is not accepted. Keep the weights on until the final round. There will be absolutely no failure in reaching our 3rd victory."

And so their first step towards 3rd victory began.

"But still it's really boring~!" Akaya flailed and wailed as she waited by the bench while Yukimura was finishing up singles 1. They were playing against Kabuto in the quarterfinals.

"Akaya, all those people outside the fence are here to collect information on you." Yanagi said. "It'd be a pain to have anything exposed before we get to the real fight."

"I know~ but I just wanna playyyy. Can I go hit after this?"

"You can't."

"Aw, maaaan." Akaya sighed, slouching and leaning on Marui who was munching on chips. "Marui-senpai, you're already on your 3rd bag."

"Shush. I'm replenishing my energy."

While Akaya and Marui chit-chatted Yukimura finished his match, ending with an overall score of 5-0 for Rikkaidai, advancing to the semifinals.

"Good game buchou."

"Thanks Akaya." Yukimura said, patting her head. "By the way Akaya, you'll be playing singles 2 tomorrow."

"Finally!" She exclaimed while clenching her fists. "I thought I was going to turn into a stone sitting down on the bench the whole time."

"But on one condition." Yukimura said.

"Hm?"

* * *

><p>She was currently playing a foreign guy from Nagoya Seitoku, named Liliadent Krauser. He was an extremely dangerous player; Akaya was already bleeding from cuts caused by his shots and blows. She lost the first game and it put her in a panic because they already gave up one singles and one doubles, with an overall score of 0-2. Her losing this match would mean Rikkaidai's dropping out of this round.<p>

She was distracted and pressured by fear of being unable to win a match; she ended up giving away 4 more games consecutively, resulting in a score of 0-5.

'_Still… why won't buchou let me use the three doors or even the red eye mode?!' _Akaya complained inside. Yukimura's "condition" was for Akaya to seal off the Red Eye mode and the three doors until the final round—and it was taking a toll on Akaya.

"Akaya's isn't looking too good." Marui mumbled as he watched Akaya fall off of a fence that she was blown onto due to Krauser's shot. There was blood all over her, some even dripping down onto the ground. The regulars watching from the sideline and Yukimura on the coach's bench all had solemn look on their faces.

'_I can't lose…! We have to get to finals! But this guy keeps on going for my body!' _Akaya thought, gritting her teeth. There was an enormous amount of pressure being put on her right now; her performance would dictate whether or not they'd advance to the next round.

'_Think, Akaya… think.' _Akaya got ready to serve, but before she tossed the ball up she inhaled and exhaled deeply, closing her eyes. _'This guy's like me when I'm in my Red Eye mode. That means his technique and control decreases significantly. But his power is way too much…'_

She began bouncing the ball.

'_But it's doable. You're weaker than buchou.' _She recollected her thoughts as she served. She served a spin serve which Krauser ended up framing, and barely returning over the net. Akaya saw through it and immediately rushed up to the net, putting away the ball on the opposite corner of the baseline with an approaching forehand shot. That was the first no touch ace shot Akaya's hit since the beginning of the match.

"I think she's got it." Niou smiled, seeing sudden change in Akaya's eyes.

Without losing any points, she was able to get a game back. Getting back on her pace again, the match's tide was turned to her favor. Without dropping any games, the game ended with a score of 7-5.

"Game and match, Kirihara Akaya!"

"I'm sorry, I almost lost." Akaya said as she came up to Yukimura sitting on the bench after finishing her match.

"You did let your guard down for 5 games." Yukimura said, crossing his arms, looking at Akaya who was standing in front of him. "Why do you think that happened?"

"It was because I wasn't able to recover quickly after getting injured from his shots. I was also afraid of his shots and I tried not to get injured." She answered.

"That's correct. And what should you have done in that next point?"

"I should've been more aggressive instead of defending myself the whole time, because I was so caught up in being afraid of his shots." She answered after giving it a thought.

"What was the biggest problem that you had to handle in this match?" Yukimura asked once again.

"…It was more of a mental factor. There was too much pressure being put on, so I ended up being thrown off easily."

"And do you think you have an idea what you'll do next time you run into a similar situation?"

"Yeah, I'll just put the scores aside and focus on winning each rally. It worked for this match too." She answered, wiping off the blood that trickled down her forehead.

"There you go. I expect to see you apply what you learned from this mistake when the time comes again." He smiled after his little interrogation. "But we should get you treated first."

Akaya walked over and sat down on the bench. Yagyuu came over with a first-aid kit and started treating her wounds. Yanagi and Niou were up playing doubles 2 and all Akaya had in her mind was whether or not they'd be able to earn the next 2 games.

"So, what did Yukimura tell you?" Marui came over and said, handing her a bottle of water.

"He told me that I should learn from my mistake today."

"I see… but man, I can't believe we had to give up winning to make you learn something." Marui pouted. "I wanted to win too."

"Wait, what?" Akaya's ears perked up. "You guys lost on purpose?!"

"Yeah." The three "losers" all blinked. "Just who do you think we are?"

"Yukimura wanted you to learn from this match, since you've never been in a pinch where your performance dictated the team's fate." Yagyuu said. "And being unable to pull out the three doors or your Red Eye mode put you in a greater pinch. Also, you've never played a player that is similar to you in your Red Eye mode. This was a good experience."

"You better thank us."

Akaya was bummed out. So this was all their plan from the beginning?

Akaya sighed after letting the information fully sink in. "That wasn't very fun. I thought I was done for!"

Without much effort Yanagi and Niou took the doubles match and Sanada took the lasts singles match, and Rikkaidai was able to proceed onto finals.

"What happened to the other bracket?" Jackal asked.

"Seigaku just beat Shitenhouji." Yanagi said. "Like my data suggested, we'll be facing them in the final round."

"Hey, Sanada's back." Marui said. "Sanada, when's the final round?"

"They're currently having problems with the main arena; the final's been postponed for 3 days." Sanada said.

"That sounds good. We'll relax today since Akaya's injured and we'll get back to practice starting tomorrow." Yukimura announced and everyone agreed. The sun started setting, so the Rikkaidai players gathered their belongings and headed out of the tennis park.

"Akaya. Are your injuries okay?" Yukimura came over and asked nicely, examining her face thoroughly with his hands.

"Yeah, this is nothing compared to that one practice with fuku-buchou." Akaya grinned. "Thank you for believing in me, buchou. You risked losing to teach me something."

Yukimura just laughed and patted her on the head. "Of course I knew you'd beat him. Right, Sanada?"

"…" Sanada just looked away, but patted Akaya on the head as well.

"Now then, what should we get for dinner?" Yukimura asked.

"MEAT!" Akaya exclaimed.

"Yeah, yakiniku sounds really good right now." Marui said, almost drooling.

"Everyone okay with yakiniku?" Yukimura asked and everyone nodded along. "Then yakiniku it is."

Then Sanada came to a stop as they crossed a group of players: it was Seigaku.

"It's Rikkaidai…" Momoshiro said and came to a stop. The two schools faced each other at the tennis park exit.

"Let's do our best in the finals." Oishi came up and said. "We're on our way to get yakiniku; would you like to come join us?"

"We were about to get yakiniku also." Yukimura said. "You guys okay with it?"

"We don't mind~"

"Mmhm."

"Then shall we go?"

* * *

><p>"Seigaku and Rikkaidai are having yakiniku?"<p>

The word spread quickly.

* * *

><p>Hey guys!<p>

The earlier chapters of LoR are going under reconstruction and are being re-updated. It will not affect the progress right now, I'm just going back and fixing mistakes, plot holes, adding in some things and whatnot. If you have time, check it out!


	43. Yakiniku Battle

Lucifer of Rikkaidai

**WILL BE UPDATING ON WATTPAD! Username MamooCake, see my profile for the link. Thanks!**

Chapter 43: Yakiniku Showdown

By the time Akaya realized, the restaurant, which used to be pretty much empty except Seigaku and Rikkaidai regulars, was now booming with regulars from other schools as well. Having never seen so many schools' regulars (and strong, too) at once, Akaya just looked up at each player passing by with her mouth slightly open.

'_S-So cute…' _The players thought as they passed by Akaya, who looked up at them with curious, big green eyes.

She was sitting in between Yanagi and Marui; while she was preoccupied in observing other people, they set up utensils in front of her.

"Akaya, stop spacing out!" Marui landed a soft chop on the middle of her forehead and said.

"But they're so many people I could play…!" She marveled, finally coming to her senses. "Senpai, Yanagi-senpai!" She tugged on Yanagi's shirt. "I want to play the ones Seigaku played today!"

"That's Shitenhouji." Yanagi answered. "They're the ones who played Seigaku in the semifinals."

"Oooooh."

"So this is Rikkai's 2nd year regular, huh?" The Shitenhouji members came over and greeted them. It seemed like some of them knew each other beforehand.

"I'm Shitenhouji's buchou, Shiraishi Kuranosuke. Nice to meet you." A boy with silver-brownish hair with a bandage wrapped around his left arm introduced himself. He was, for a lack of better words, _handsome._

"Kirihara Akaya, nice to meet you!"

They introduced themselves to Akaya one after another. Akaya was secretly trying to figure out who'd be the strongest among them.

"HEY! A GIRL?" A rather distinctive and childlike voice rang out. A small boy came through the crowd and looked at Akaya. "HI! I'M TOOYAMA KINTAROU!"

"Hi, I'm Kirihara Akaya."

"So you're the second year ace! PLAY ME!"

"ALRIGHT!" Akaya was thrilled by the challenge, until—

"Aaahn~? It looks like everyone came here, after all." A cheesy voice was heard from a private room in the front of the restaurant; on the other side of the door were the Hyotei regulars with Atobe being in the dead center as usual.

They ended up agreeing to have a yakiniku battle of which school can eat the most.

"Six people? Hm. Who eats the least in this group?" Yukimura asked.

"Yagyuu and Jackal eat the least."

"Then you two will sit out. There can be no obstacle to our victory, no matter how trivial." Yukimura said. Yagyuu and Jackal joined other non-participants in the other table to eat and watch.

"Alright we're going to win for sure!" Akaya clenched her fists confidently. "With me and Marui-senpai playing, there's no way we'll lose!"

"You said it, Akaya!" Marui exclaimed as well with a confident look. "I didn't eat any cake before this; we should be able to win!"

"Considering how last time at the beach they cleared 50 plates and got kicked out of the all-you-can-eat restaurant, we are sure to win."

The six participants from each school sat down on each table and waited for Kikumaru and Oshitari to introduce each member.

"Last we have the King Rikkaidai Fuzoku; also called Child of God, there is no stopping this guy who came back from the depths of hell. Yukimura Seiichi." Oshitari was in charge of introducing them.

"There must be no obstacle to our victory."

"I really want to know what this guy is thinking about all the time. Data Master Yanagi Renji."

"The probability of Rikkaidai winning is always greater than 99%."

"This guy is the epitome of unwavering strictness. We have last of the Big Three, The Emperor Sanada Genichirou."

"Hm. Let us do our best to win."

"If you were ever tricked into something, then this guy is behind it. Petenshi, Niou Masaharu."

"Puri."

"Next up is the Genius Marui Bunta. Are you going to chew gum even when you eat…?"

"Heh. I'll show you all my genius!"

"And last but not least, the very cute but fearsome Rikkaidai 2nd year ace, Kirihara Akaya."

"Don't go cryin' home just cuz you lose." Akaya smirked and said.

"The rules are simple. The school that eats the most in an hour wins."

"However!" Kikumaru interrupted. "You have to drink one of Inui's special juices to start and every 10 plates of meat you finish."

"Inui-san's juices?" Akaya cocked her head. "That's like Yanagi-senpai's juices, right? Then there shouldn't be any problem since it was really good."

"No…" Yanagi said. "His are completely different from my creations."

"Huh…"

"Without further ado, ready… start!" Oshitari started the timer and each team was given a cup of juice to begin.

"The first drink is… Inui's special veggie drink!" Kikumaru introduced.

As soon as the cup arrived in Rikkaidai's table, Yukimura reached for the drink.

"Well this looks rather healthy, don't you think?" He smiled.

"…" Yanagi didn't say anything and just sat there, staring intently at Yukimura and the cup in his hand.

"If buchou wants to then by all means~" Akaya said.

Other schools too were deciding who should drink it.

"AAARGABRSF#$ GFF^&%$! !"

Then suddenly, with a yelp, something whizzed by, rolling right out of the exit and slumping onto the ground lifelessly. It was Rokkaku's Aoi. Soon, Hyotei's Mukahi ran out as well, passing out on the parking lots.

"B-Buchou, I don't think you should…!"

Then Rikkaidai members saw Fuji chugging down the green juice… and Fuji found it delicious. "Ahhhh. Healthy and delicious, it's the best!"

"Huhu. If it's healthy for you, I should probably drink it since I am still recovering." Yukimura said and brought the cup to his mouth. The regulars all watched him take a gulp—

"Oh, it actually doesn't taste half bad." He said and the regulars sighed in relief. "I understand what Fuji is saying."

Couple of others dropped out, passing out from the drink. After Yukimura finished the juice they finally received their plate of meat. Sanada grabbed the plates to start grilling the meat.

"Sanada! Put everything on at once so we can eat it faster!" Marui said.

"Good idea."

"It looks so good…!" Akaya's eyes shined as Sanada piled meat on top of the grill, making a sizzling sound.

As soon as the meat was cooked, everyone started eating furiously.

"L-Look! Tanishi's using a tong to put all that meat in his mouth at once!"

They looked at Tanishi from Higa eating huge amounts of meat with each successive grab. One swipe with his tong was just as much as Marui and Akaya's portions combined. Then Kabaji from Hyotei copied Tanishi and started eating just as much with a tong too.

"Th-That's kinda gross…" Marui trailed off but nonetheless his mouth busily moving.

Higa first hit 10 plates and Tanishi cleared the next drink, Penal Tea, like it was no big deal; then for Hyotei, Shishido volunteered to drink it—ended up on the streets.

Oishi of Seigaku dropped out for unknown reasons as well.

Rikkaidai, Shitenhouji, and Seigaku cleared 10 plates and Penal Tea appeared in front of them. Fuji chugged it down with ease.

"And the one to drink it from Shitenhouji is…"

"It's still too early to win against me." Hitouji Yuuji, a guy with a green bandana said. His voice was exactly like Fuji's.

"It's the copycat prince, Hitouji Yuuji!"

"It's a perfect imitation of Fuji Syuusuke!"

"Don't tell me, he can copy people's sense of taste also?"

"This drink… will disappear."

He ended up on the human pile of drop-outs too.

"Heh, that's what happens when an amateur tries to copy someone." Niou said, grabbing the cup. "Inui's drink is really good, I wonder why all the fuss…?"

"I-It's Fuji Syuusuke!"

"Niou-senpai's illusion!"

Niou used his illusion to completely change not only his voice, but also his appearance into Fuji.

The moment he took a gulp, he stormed right outside.

"Niou-senpaaaai!" Akaya cried out but Niou ended up on the pile as well.

"Finally someone drops out from Rikkaidai!"

"I guess it's impossible to copy someone's sense of taste."

"Akaya! We still have ways to go to beat Higa!"

"O-Okay!"

They continued eating busily, until people started crying out and ran out of the restaurant, piling up on top of each other.

"GAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Yukimura then suddenly cried out and dashed out of the restaurant.

"YUKIMURAAA!"

"BUCHOOOU!"

"Due to a mysterious cause, five people have dropped out!"

Then someone in Rokkaku pointed out that Higa's Kite was slipping weird things into people's plates—it was a super spicy hot sauce from Okinawa.

"That's dirty…!"

"Heh. With this our victory is ensured. Let us change the grill."

"Leave it to me. Vikiiiiiinggggggg"

"W-Wait, Kai-kun, there's still meat on top of the gri—"

"HOOOOORRRRRNNNN!"

* * *

><p>"Man, they're stupid." Akaya scoffed, chewing on her meat.<p>

Hyotei's Atobe reached the next drink—koohii.

"Hm, just regular coffee?" Atobe wondered and casually took a sip—and froze right on the spot.

"It's 30 times the caffeine of a normal coffe."

"BUWWAHGHGH!" After a few seconds Atobe snapped out, breathing heavily.

"As expected of King, he made a quick recovery." People around clapped and Akaya just shook her head. She still didn't like him.

"And speaking of king, the next 10 plates of Hyotei will be… chateau briand!"

"King of the meat! Chateau briand!"

"Shaaatoo… buri...buri..?" Akaya repeated, wondering what this never-heard of meat was.

"Chateau briand. It's a portion taken from the center of the cow's filet meat. Only 600 grams of it can be taken per 4 kilograms of meat and is considered the luxury of all luxuries."

"MARUI-SENPAI WE'RE DEFINITELY EATING 60 PLATES!" Akaya drooled and said.

"YOU BET!"

"The fleshiness that melts in your mouth is the art form in itself." Inui finished his explanation—but Atobe smirked.

"How naïve, Inui." He said.

"What?!"

"And here I thought there was meat good enough to satisfy my taste, but... this is a fake."

The shop owner flinched.

"I can tell just by the tenderness and the way the fat sits on the flesh. Now then, Inui. You've never eaten it, have you?" Atobe poked fun at Inui, who became bewildered by Atobe's comment.

"The only one that knows how it tastes… is my tongue." Atobe said.

After contemplating for a while, Inui leapt over the table towards Atobe—but his foot slipped and he was on the verge of falling on top of the grill.

"Watch out, Inui!" Tezuka quickly reached out his hand—and ended up pulling down Inui's pants. Inui landed on top of the grill, his butt cheeks facing the ceiling. With a yelp, unconscious Inui was carried out.

"How unsightly, Sadaharu." Yanagi said while covering Akaya's eyes with one hand.

Rikkaidai and the rest others finally reached 40 plates—and were met with Koura as their next drink.

"I'll take this." Sanada said and grabbed the drink.

Akaya then soon saw Echizen running out, the drink dripping down from his mouth and his face all distorted.

"What the—" Akaya flinched and quickly turned to look at Sanada, who finished chugging down the drink and was perfectly fine.

"Koura. It contains blood and shells of snapping turtles and is rich in collagen."

"Oh, so that's why…"

"Always win Rikkaidai! There is no obstacle to our 3rd consecutive victory!"

Sanada looked healthier and more energetic than ever, and so did Shiraishi and Kurobane from Shitenhouji.

"Man, I wanted to try it." Akaya trailed off in disappointment.

"It's called the adults' drink, Akaya." Yanagi said, patting her on the head.

'_But you're all only a year older than me…' _

Akaya then got out of her chair and put her shoes on.

"Wha—where you goin, Akaya!?"

"Bathroom~ I'll be quick!" She said and dashed off into the bathroom. After finishing her business she came out after washing her hands—and noticed that the entire restaurant was filled with black smoke. As soon as she breathed it, she started coughing violently.

"Kek, what is this…!" She rubbed her eyes, which were tearing up as well. "Senpai-tachi!"

"This way!" Then someone lifted her up in his arms and dashed right outside of the restaurant. When Akaya could open her eyes again, she realized that the one that had saved her was the guy with a bandage on his left arm, Shiraishi Kuranosuke.

"Are you okay?" He carefully put her down and asked nicely.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thank you, um… Shiraishi-san?" She thanked him, recalling his name.

"Yup!" He smiled nicely.

"Where is everyone els—AHHHHHHHH!" She screamed after seeing a mountain of people stacked up on top of each other. Niou and Yukimura were stuck at the bottom of the pile because they dropped out earlier in the battle.

"B-B-B-Buchouuuuu! Don't worry I'll save youuu!" She cried out and desperately tried to pull him out.

"It's no use, Kirihara. You'll have to wait until they all wake up." Shiraishi said, patting her shoulder. Akaya sighed; she scanned the pile and found other members relatively at the top, right under Seigaku—and also found Tezuka and Echizen. She snickered, took her phone out, and took a shot. She also took shots of her teammates as well.

"Hehehe."

"Isn't it hard?" While she was giggling at the photos, Shiraishi came over and asked. "Being a girl on the team."

"Not at all." She replied. "After all, the senpai-tachi all look out for me."

"You have a very nice team."

"Hehe, I do. What about you, Shiraishi-san? Your teammates seem to get along really well. Aren't you the buchou?"

"We're like a family, yeah." He laughed. "Although my position is more of a babysitter than a captain. Our first year Kin-chan is quite the handful."

"Kin-chan?"

"SHIRAAIISHIIII!" Then a voice interrupted them, soon followed by a small boy coming to a stop in front of them.

"Kin-chan, were you able to get Osamu-chan?"

"Yup! He should be coming soon." He then noticed Akaya standing next to Shiraishi. "YOU'RE THE SECOND YEAR ACE! FIGHT ME IN A TENNIS BATTLE!"

"Wait, Kin-chan. We have to wait for these people to wake up." Shiraishi intervened, trying to convince the small boy.

"NOPE I WANT TO PLAY HER RIGHT NOW!"

"Kin-chan~?"

"NOOO!"

"Hm. If you say so…" Then Shiraishi started to unravel the bandage on his left arm.

"W-Wait! I-I'm sorry, so please just don't kill me with the poison arm!" At that Kintarou flinched and waved his hands in the air vigorously, hiding behind a tree.

"Poison arm…?"

"It's the only way to keep him on the leash, you see." Shiraishi leaned over and whispered to her so that Kintarou wouldn't hear.

"Hehe. How cute." Akaya laughed while Kintarou looked at Shiraishi nervously.

"I think it'll take a while for them to wake up; how about we grab some ice cream? My treat." Shiraishi said.

"Ice cream?" Akaya looked up at him with sparkling eyes. There were three types of people that she loved. 1) Her family. 2) Her teammates and friends, and 3) People that bought her food.

"I guess that' a yes." Shiraishi laughed and the three of them left to a nearby ice cream shop.

_'Shitenhouji's captain is amazing! Sorry senpai-tachi, but I'll come get you after I finish the ice cream.'_

* * *

><p>Akaya: Man, I wish I could've eaten more. That stupid Monkey Diva Atobe just had to ruin everything.<p>

Shiraishi: Oh well, at least we're all safe!

Akaya: Speaking of which, thanks again for saving me, Shiraishi-san. And the ice cream was good too.

Shiraishi: Haha, no problem. I would hate to see my future doubles partner become a victim of Inui's horrifying creations.

Akaya: Shiraishi-san… you're so nice *sniff* OH! And I have good news!

Shiraishi: What is it?

Akaya: Author's added some pretty interesting and new plots … such as me screwing over some jealous fangirls and watching a horror movie with the senpai-tachi (chapter 9 and 10!), an argument between me and fuku-buchou being a bit more intense (chapter 25), and having a training camp at Yanagi senpai's lodge in the mountains! (chapter 30). I-I hated watching a horror movie...

Shiraishi: Wow, I wonder how that went with Sanada-kun and Yanagi-kun.

Akaya: She also revised errors and plot holes because she thought some of them were just so shitty after going back and reading them.

Shiraishi: Well she's revising it so it shouldn't be a problem! Do I show up in the earlier chapters?

Akaya: Of course not, I don't get to meet you until this chapter.

Shiraishi: Aww…

Akaya: But it's okay! You'll start showing up a lot in U-17 arc because you'll be my doubles partner after all!

Shiraishi: I'm looking forward to it! Also, the author will also be having a **Q&A,** so ask away everyone~ then see you next chapter!


End file.
